


Lorelai

by HodnesLaikKwelnes



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, Kid Fic, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2019-06-16
Packaged: 2020-05-13 00:27:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 23,817
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19240147
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HodnesLaikKwelnes/pseuds/HodnesLaikKwelnes
Summary: Alex's hair is shorter and she looks more in shape than you've ever seen her before.J'onn, you notice now, has none of his usual grey hair. Though you know it's all just a façade to blend in with the humans, it still freaks you out to see him look so different.How did you not realize sooner?You slowly back up from your mom until your back hits a wall and all you can get out is a breathless "What year is it?"or,A 10 year old Lori Luthor-Danvers travels to the past and it's all a bit of a mess.





	Lorelai

**Author's Note:**

> If the summary seems familiar to some of you, it's probably because it is! I started this fic in 2017, posted it as a multi-chapter and... never finished it. So I'm very sorry about that, I have no excuse, I just wasn't feeling it anymore.  
> But, I've also been thinking about it since then, have read all the comments asking me about the rest of the fic, and promised myself that I would finish it and post it in its entirety eventually so, here we are!  
> (I've also changed a few things so if you've read the beginning I'd still recommend starting over! But that's up to you, of course.)
> 
> So anyway, hope you enjoy and feel free to let me know what you think, I appreciate constructive criticism!

The first thing that comes to your mind is that you fell asleep on the floor at your aunt Alex's house again watching a movie with Jamie. But then you remember that Alex and Jamie are in Midvale for a couple of weeks visiting your grandma so it's not possible.

But you're definitely on _a_ floor, and your whole body aches so you must have been on it for a while. But it doesn't make sense. So you open your eyes to see where you are and _why_ but the lights are bright and it makes you close them again right away.  
Thankfully though, you've been at the DEO often enough to know instantly that that's where you are. No other place has that much concrete everywhere.

But you're still confused because you're not supposed to be at the DEO today. You go sometimes, with your mom, but most of the time you end up at work with your ma' because they don't like you hanging out at a secret governmental agency that much. Go figure.

But today, you're supposed to be at school. 

You remember now. It's a Tuesday, and you were excited this morning because your ma' has been away on a business trip for the past week and she was finally coming back today. And she was supposed to pick you up. You had been counting down the days and everything.

But now you're on the floor of the DEO and suddenly you realize there's noise all around you. Hushed voices talking over each other, people typing away at computers, guns cocking…

_Guns cocking._

That makes you open your eyes quickly and before you know it you're sitting up and starring at a dozen agents pointing their guns at you. 

This is either a prank or a mistake, but either way, your moms will _not_ be happy about this. You're about to say something when a familiar brunette walks closer to you, gun aimed right at your head.

"Who are you?" She asks authoritatively, finger on the trigger.

Never in a million years would you have thought that _Alex_ would ever speak to you like that. It's like she doesn't know you at all; she doesn't have that _love_ in her eyes that she usually has when she's around you. It breaks your heart and it makes uncontrollable tears appear in your eyes.

She must see the distraught look on your face because she frowns, not enough for the average person to see, but you notice because she's your _family_. 

"Alex." A voice to your right says. It's familiar but you can't place it; as if you hadn't heard it in a very long time or something. So you turn your head just enough to see who it is and you frown when you see Maggie Sawyer standing there, walking over to your aunt and putting a calming hand on her shoulder.

Alex has told you all about Maggie Sawyer. Your moms too. You've only met her once, a few years ago, you randomly ran into her when you were hanging out with Alex and Jamie; it was the most awkward encounter you have ever witnessed to this day. Except now they seem perfectly comfortable in each other's presence and you don't understand. You’re pretty sure they haven’t talked since they broke up, apart from that one awkward encounter.

"Maggie?" You didn't mean to say that out loud, but you obviously did because her head snaps towards you, along with Alex's.

"How do you know her name?!" Alex asks threateningly, taking a step closer to you, and once again, you're completely taken aback by her tone.

You know this isn't a prank, because this would just be cruel, and your aunt is anything but that. When it comes to you anyway; criminals aren't always so lucky.  
And if this isn't a prank, something must be very _very_ wrong.

* * *

When you wake up later on, you're somewhere softer. Definitely a bed, you decide, when you feel a pillow under your head. 

You instantly remember what happened earlier, and you realize you must have fainted, and you're almost scared to open your eyes, but you know you can't just pretend to be asleep forever - _though you do consider it_ \- so you open them anyway.

You're still at the DEO, but this time you're in the med bay. A couple of agents are standing at the foot of your bed, none that you recognize, and when they see you awake, one of them leaves the room without sparing you a second glance.

You try to sit up but you can't because you're cuffed to the bed, and that makes you panic. You don't like small spaces or being restricted, your moms and aunt know this, so why would they allow it?

"Is my mom here?" You ask the remaining guard in a shaky voice and he looks at you untrustingly but doesn't respond.

Only a few seconds later, the guard from before comes back followed by Alex and J'onn.

"Papa." You whisper to yourself, but not loud enough for any of them to hear you.

You've known him long enough to know that that look on his face is him trying to read your mind, but L-Corp created an affordable _Mental Shield_ years ago that most people are now equipped with, yet it appears to leave him perplexed when he can't seem to access your thoughts.

He gives Alex a look that says he wasn't successful and it deepens her frown, if that's even possible.

"I'm going to ask you again, and this time I'd like an answer. Who are you?" She says sternly, and it makes you shiver, but at least you don't have a gun pointed at you this time. What you wouldn't give to see your moms right now.

"I'm Lori." You answer as if that's common knowledge, because _it is_ , everyone here knows you. You grew up around those people, they're your friends and family, you _know_ them. But apparently they don't know you.

"Where are you from?" She asks then and you frown.

"National City." You answer slowly, wondering if she's lost her mind. "Alex, why are you asking me all of this? Why am I cuffed to the bed, and where is my _mom_?" You ask finally in a broken voice. 

"Your mom?" She asks confused. "Is she here with you?"

"I don't know where she is!" You yell out and you realize you're crying now. You’re tired, scared and confused, and you're only 10 goddammit, you just want to go home.

"Search the building, she might not be alone." Alex says to one of the guards and he gives her a nod before leaving the room in a hurry followed by the second guard, leaving you with only J'onn and Alex.

"What are you?" Is the unexpected question that comes from J'onn after a moment of silence.

"What do you _mean_?" You ask exasperatedly. They're not making _any sense_.

"Are you from this planet?" He clarifies carefully.

"Of course I am, you know this!" You exclaim frustrated. "Look, I don't know what's going on but I _really_ don't like my movements being restricted so _please_ , uncuff me?" You plead, tears still slowly streaming down your face.

Alex seems to take pity on you because she slowly approaches the bed, keys in hand and slowly and carefully uncuffs you.

"You better not do anything stupid." She still warns and you scoff, you're not that stupid, thank you very much.

"Fighting a trained DEO agent? Yeah, no thanks." You say as you rub at your wrists and finally sit up in a more comfortable position.

Before they can ask you anything else, the agent from before walks back into the room and addresses Alex directly. "The building is clear ma'am, if she came here with anyone, they're gone." 

She nods at him and he leaves as fast as he came before she turns back to you.

"How do you know about the DEO? And how did you get here?" She asks, growing impatient.

"I don't know how I got here Alex!" You say exasperated. "All I remember was getting ready for school this morning, and then… this! And nothing makes sense! You're both looking at me as if we've never met before, _Maggie_ of all people is here but my mom isn't yet which now that I think about it is… weird." You say, angry only for a second before the anger turns to worry. "Oh god, she's not hurt is she Alex? Please tell me she's okay." You ask shakily, but they're both looking at you as if you've grown a second head. Which, seeing as how your morning has been, you wouldn't be surprised really.

"What do you mean, 'as if we've never met before'?" Alex asks, definitely confused now.

"You're asking me all this questions that you already know the answer of, and I just want to go home okay? I want to see my moms." You say with a shaky voice, frustrated and worried that she won't give you an update on your mom.

"'Moms'?" Alex asks but gets ignored when J'onn speaks up.

"Who are we to you, Lori?" He asks hesitantly.

"You're my family." You reply instantly. "My aunt Alex and Papa J'onn." You add when they look like you've just told them teleportation isn't possible anymore. God that would be terrible.

"Papa J'onn…?" J'onn asks confused, as if what you had just said wasn't clear enough.

"You hate it when we call you grandpa, and you love _Papa John's_ pizza so." You explain with a small shrug.

" _We_? Who is we?" J'onn asks with a frown.

"Jamie and I, who else?" You ask confused. Did they lose some of their memory somehow? Is that even possible?

"Jamie? Is that your mother's name?" He asks, getting closer to you.

"No, that's my cousin. Papa, you know this, what's going on?" You ask with a small involuntary whimper.

Alex, who has been silent for a moment, finally speaks up. "I'm your _aunt_?" She asks incredulously.

"Yes!" You say throwing your hands in the air exasperatedly.

"But if you're my… niece, then who's your-" before she can finish her sentence, the blonde you had desperately been waiting for appears at the door in her red and blue attire.

"Hey Alex, Winn told me we had a bit of a situation?" She asks as she walks into the room.

"Supergirl-" J'onn starts.

"Mom!" You shout happily before jumping off of the bed and running over to where the blonde is standing, quickly and tightly hugging her, ecstatic to see that she's perfectly fine despite your earlier worry.

But you're only happy for about 5 seconds because soon enough you realize that the room is deadly silent and that your mom isn't hugging you back, she's just _standing there_ with you awkwardly wrapped around her.  
So you pull back slowly and look at her with a frown, which she returns tenfold.

"Mom?" You whisper in confusion.

"I-" She stutters, looking up at Alex in confusion, but fails to say anything.

That's when you finally notice what she's wearing and you're deeply confused because that's an old suit. It's so old in fact that you've never even seen her in it, only in pictures. She's had like 4 upgrades since. And as you look at her face you notice that she looks different. Not that much because Kryptonian DNA is truly a gift, but her hair is longer, and she has less wrinkles, or well, pretty much none at all.

So you look back at the other two in the room and you notice that they look different too. 

Alex's hair is shorter by just an inch and she looks more in shape than you've ever seen her before.  
J'onn, you notice now, has none of his usual grey hair. Though you know it's all just a façade to blend in with the humans, it still freaks you out to see him look so different.

_How did you not realize sooner?_

You slowly back up from your mom until your back hits a wall and all you can get out is a breathless "What year is it?"

* * *

2019.

You're in _2019_.

How is that even _possible?!_

Well, you know it's _possible_ , but not for _you_. Some metahumans can travel through time, including your Uncle Barry, but it's not exactly _allowed_. Not for him anyway. The Legends do it too, but that's their _job_.

But you, you _can't_ travel through time! You've never done it, and honestly, it's not something that was on your bucket list. It's dangerous too; you could mess up the timeline! What if you mess up so badly that you get erased from existence? Or well, that sounds unlikely because you're adopted, but _Jamie_ could get erased. You could never get adopted. 

You're having a panic attack. You know you are, you can feel your heart hammering in your chest, and you can't breathe. You know your mom - _Kara_ , she's not your mom here - is trying to talk you through it, but it's not working. You can't even hear what she's saying. All you hear is the blood rushing in your ears. You're curled up on the floor against the wall, hugging your knees to your chest; you can't move. 

"Her name is Lori right? That's what you said?" You hear Kara ask Alex eventually, but it sounds as if she's miles away. She's crouching right in front of you though.

And it makes you panic even more. Your own mom doesn't know who you are. She has no idea. You don't even _exist_ in 2019. For what you remember your moms telling you, they're not even dating yet. They're just _friends_.

And Alex. Alex is still with Maggie at this point. Jamie doesn't exist. 

J'onn isn't with M'gann. All of your school friends aren't born yet. Winn can't be your favorite uncle because he's not even an uncle yet. Lucy is still in Metropolis.

Your head is starting to hurt now. You're not sure if it's from the lack of oxygen or because of the thousands thoughts going through your head, but you don't like it. 

You've had a few panic attacks before, but never any this bad. Most of them were before you were adopted, but when you had one while living with your moms, your Ma' always helped you through them, used to them herself. Except that your Ma' isn't here right now. She's not even your Ma' yet.

You see Kara's lips moving so you blink a few times to try and make yourself focus and finally catch what the blonde is saying.

"Lori, I need you to take slow deep breaths okay? Can you do that for me?" Kara asks and you try, you really do, but it's not working and your heart starts to beat even faster.

You know she can hear it because you can see her start to panic. You feel like you're going to pass out. The edge of your vision is starting to darken.

"Lori, breath." J'onn says as he crouches next to Kara. "I know you're scared, and worried, but we're going to figure this out together, I promise. Try breathing with me. In and out. Slowly." He says firmly but calmly. 

You're not sure how but he manages to calm you down. He keeps his distance, which you appreciate, but he keeps talking, always making sure your attention is on him and only him. It takes a good 20 minutes but at least you don't pass out. _Again_. 

But by the time your breathing has returned to normal, you're exhausted. Your eyes are dropping against your will; you know you'll be asleep soon. Kara and J'onn are still in front of you, making sure you don't panic again, and Alex is watching from where she's leaning against the railing of the bed. 

When Kara reaches out to you, you don't flinch, but you almost want to. 

Carefully, the blonde carries you to the bed, and gently puts you under the covers, in almost a motherly way, and you want to cry some more at that thought but you're too tired. You're asleep even before you're even completely settled.

* * *

When you wake up, you're disoriented. For a moment you're certain that you're at home, in bed, and that you're waking up for school. But then you think about school, and your Ma' that is supposed to be coming back and… yeah, you remember now.

You open your eyes slowly, and you're thankful for the dimmed lights. You're still in the med bay but you think it might be night time now. There are no windows here but the overall atmosphere screams 'middle of the night'. 

You sit up slowly, rubbing your eyes, grateful to see that they didn't cuff you to the bed again. Nobody else is in the room, not even a guard, but knowing them, your Mom is listening to you very closely, so you're expecting to see someone walk through the door any second now. Your Mom has told you before that your heart rate changes when you're awake, which she's usually always listening to.

Except that you sit there for a good 5 minutes and nothing happens. No one comes in, and no one walks by the room's open door. Which is weird. The DEO is always active.

So you decide to get up and see where everyone is because again, it's weird. You figure that if someone shows up out of nowhere and claims to be from the future, and _related_ to Supergirl, there'd be more supervision. You'll have to have a talk with your Mom about all of this once you get home.

( _If_ you get home).

Thankfully you know your way around the DEO pretty well, so you find the main operation center in less than a minute. And you're glad to see that it's less dead than the med bay. 

You see Alex and J'onn staring at the big screen, looking at what seems to be some sort of blueprint.

They’re in the middle of an operation. Your Mom isn't anywhere to be seen so you figure she's out there somewhere, fighting crime.

Winn is at a computer next to Vasquez, they're talking quietly to each other as they type away and it makes you smile. It's weird to see them all so young. You'll definitely have to tease him about that outfit when - _if_ \- you go back to your time.

"Good job Supergirl, we'll be waiting for you here." Alex says staring at the screen but you know that she's talking through her earpiece.

"Agent Danvers." An agent says from directly behind you, making you jump at the unexpected voice.

Alex turns in your direction and frowns when she sees you standing there.

"What are you doing?" She asks, walking towards you.

"I woke up and nobody was there." You explain slowly. "I'm hungry." You add, because you really are, you haven't eaten anything in… you're not even sure how long.

"We'll get you some food. Go back to the med bay." She instructs and she gives a look to the agent still standing behind you that indicates that she wants him to go with you, to make sure you don't wander around or something.

"Sure, but please bring me something else than DEO food; it's worse than hospital food." You reply with a disgusted face, turning to walk back to where you came from.

"How do you know that?" She says, making you stop in your tracks.

"Did you miss the whole panic attack thing when you told me we were in 2019 or…?" You ask, raising an eyebrow, a trick you learned from your Ma'.

You almost laugh at the look on Alex's face.

"So you _are_ from another time then?" She asks to confirm.

"2033." You say with a nod.

"Holy shit." You hear from behind Alex and when you look over you see Winn standing there, mouth slightly open.

"Winslow!" You say happily, with a teasing smirk because you know how much he hates his full name. You and him have that in common.

He almost chokes on his own spit and it makes you laugh. "You- you know who I am." He says incredulously.

"Of course, you're my favorite uncle." You reply with a shrug.

" _Uncle?_ " He squeaks out just as Supergirl lands next to them.

"Who's an uncle?" She asks clueless, as she catches her breath.

" _Me_ , apparently. Because you have a _kid_ Kara." He says and you see him starting to turn a little red in his excitement.

"Winn! This is _Supergirl_!" Alex whispers harshly to him with wild hand gestures and you raise your eyebrow again because, seriously?

"I know Supergirl's name you know, since she's my mom and all." You point out, amused. Your aunt Alex gets a lot smarter in the future, that's for sure.

"Look kid, we still don't know where you came from and if you're telling the truth, so please go back to the med bay and wait for us there." She says dismissively and gestures to the lingering agent to take you.

He grabs you by the shoulder but you shrug him off because you can walk on your own, thank you very much. 

"My name is _Lori_ , not kid." You say as you turn and walk away.

You're a little disappointed, but you understand that they might not believe you. They've been under attack from aliens pretending to _not_ be aliens so much that if you were in their shoes, you'd probably be wary too.

But your mom has barely looked at you since she got back and that's what probably hurts the most.

Where you're from, Kara Danvers makes everything better. She lights up a room. Hugs you every chance she gets. You miss that. Miss home.

* * *

"What's your last name, Lori?" J'onn asks.

They've just started asking you questions. Well, J'onn has. Alex is observing the whole thing warily and your mom is here too but she looks like she'd rather be anywhere else. Winn is watching too but you know it's more from curiosity than distrust.

"I don't think I can tell you that." You answer, biting your lip.

"Why not?" Alex asks defensively.

"It might mess up the timeline. If I say or do something that may influence the future, than everything could change." You explain with a frown.

"But you're… my daughter?" Your mom speaks up for the first time.

"Yeah." You say as you look down at your fidgeting hands. "My last name does contain Danvers. It just… has something else in it." You try to explain without giving too much away.

"So I'm married and I… hyphenated?" She asks slowly, seeming uncomfortable at the thought.

"You guys couldn't agree on which name to keep." You reply simply with a shrug.

"And you're human?" The blonde asks, biting her lip in confusion.

"I'm adopted." You explain with a nod.

"Oh." She acknowledges but stays silent after that. You figure it's a lot to swallow.

"And you have absolutely no idea how you got here?" J'onn asks, changing the subject.

"No, I mean, the only people I know capable of time travel are The Flash and the Legends, but they definitely wouldn't have just dropped me off _14 years_ in the past with no explanation." You say, shaking your head. 

That headache you had earlier is definitely coming back now.

"She knows The Flash, she can't possibly be lying Alex." Winn points out, his voice shaky with excitement.

Alex looks at you with a glint of _something_ in her eyes and asks "What's his real name?"

"Barry Allen." You reply easily.

"See?" Winn exclaims excitedly.

"Maybe she's mind reading?" Alex asks more to herself than anything, though she's still looking at you.

"J'onn?" Kara asks worryingly.

"I can't access her thoughts, but that doesn't mean that she's able to access ours." He says with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"I'm not mind-reading! I'm human, if you don't believe me, take my blood and test it. I don't care. The only reason you can't access my thoughts is because L-Corp manufactured a Mental Shield in 2026." You explain exasperated, moving your blonde hair aside to show them the little bump on the side of your neck where your implant rests.

What on earth do you have to do for them to believe you? If they don't believe you, they won't help you understand how you got here and won't help you figure out how to go back.

"Why would a child need something like this?" He asks with a frown.

"My mom is _Supergirl_ , and my Ma' is… powerful too. I've been a target since the day I met them. In case someone tried to use me for information, they wanted me, and them, to be protected." 

" _'Ma'?_ " Kara squeaks out in a whisper.

You feel bad, because you know that right now, she still hasn't figured out her feelings for your Ma'. She hasn't even realized that she likes girls yet. So you're kind of sorry to be dropping this bomb on her, and you hope it won't affect the future too badly, because you can't take it back now.  
You don't say anything, preferring to let her process on her own, but Alex sends her a confused look before looking back at you.

"We'll have to do tests. I need to be sure." Alex says, getting her serious face back on.

"Sure, no problem." You say with a shrug. 

"In the meantime, you'll have to stay here. And someone will have to watch you." She says turning to the other occupants of the room as if looking for volunteers.

" _ME!_ " Winn shouts before Alex can even properly finish her sentence. He raises his arm and everything, and it's so typically _him_ that it makes you giggle.

It breaks Kara out of whatever trance she was in and she looks up alarmed.

"We'll be taking turns; you have a day job, and so does Kara." Alex says shaking her head at herself. "But sure, you take first shift Winn."

" _'First shift'_? Am I like a prisoner now?" You ask with a scoff. "I don't need a babysitter."

"Until we know more, you are, just be grateful that you're not in lock up." Alex says on a tone that makes you flinch. 

She leaves the room immediately after that, followed by J'onn, leaving you with Winn and Kara.

Winn excitedly comes to sit on the edge of the bed, already asking you a million questions but you don't hear any of them. You're looking at your Mom, and she's looking at you in a way you haven't seen before. She almost looks sad. You don't know what to do, but before you can think about it too much, she's gone too.

"Are we able to travel to other planets in the future? I mean, us, mortal humans." That's what you hear when you focus back on him, and he looks slightly out of breath but still overly excited.

"Winn, I need you to get me out of here." Is what you reply with and it takes him a moment to understand what just came out of your mouth.

"You're kidding. You're kidding, right?" He asks with that nervous sort of laugh he has.

"After they take my blood, they'll be focused on running their test and won't be as vigilant about my whereabouts, especially if I'm supposed to be with you. We can do it then." You tell him, forming the plan in your mind.

"No, no way. Are you _insane_? I could get arrested for like, treason!" He whisper-yells back at you.

"Don't be dramatic. You won't get arrested." You say rolling your eyes. "Plus I'm not going to go out there and wreak havoc; I just don't want to be _here_ right now. So _please_ Winn, help me out."

"How do you know whether I'm gonna get arrested?" He asks suspiciously. " _Oh my god_ , has this _happened_ before?!" He asks, but forgets to whispers this time, which alerts a random agent walking by. Thankfully he seems used to Winn's antics and doesn't stick around.

"Don't be ridiculous. I just know that you're too important to my- to Kara. She would never let you get locked up." You tell him with a roll of your eyes.

"Really?" He asks with a goofy smile. "So we're like, still friends in the future right? And I still work here?" He asks still excited.

"You're not just a friend, you're family." You answer. "I told you, you're pretty much my uncle; my favorite one at that." It makes him smile bigger, but it doesn't last.

" _Ugh_ , don't try and distract me with feelings! I'm not breaking you out of the DEO." He says sternly, shaking his head.

"Look, I don't belong here. I can't stay here. In this time I mean. My Mom looks at me like… like she doesn't recognize me, like she doesn't _love_ me. And yeah sure, I know that's the case right now, but it _hurts_. She's my best friend, yet she won't even stay in the same room as me. And the person that is most likely to be able to help me get back to my time, to my _family_ , is out there, not here. So please Winn, help me." You don't realize that you're crying right away, but the sad look on his face tips you off.

You quickly wipe at the tears, and look down at the bed sheet so that you don't have to look at the pity on his face.

"Who is it?" He asks quietly.

"What?" You reply confused, looking up with a frown.

"The person that can help you, who is it?" He clarifies.

"Ma'". You say simply, not wanting to get into too much detail.

You can tell he doesn't want to pry, so he keeps quiet for a few seconds, until he looks at you with a hint of mischief in his eyes.

"Fine, but I'm coming with you." He says with a large grin.

"What? No, I need you to cover for me, from here. Plus, you knowing who Ma' is might affect the timeline! And honestly, if that stops me from getting adopted in the future, I am _so_ coming for you Winslow." You say as threateningly as possible, hoping that that'll change his mind.

"And what do you think will happen if they find me here without you? Alex _scares_ the _shit_ out of me, there's no way I'm not telling her everything if she questions me. You know, she knows over _200_ ways to kill someone. She told me all of them once." He says looking a little nauseated, getting up from the bed to pace the room. "And I promise to make it my life mission to make sure you get adopted in the future. And I won't tell Kara anything. Scout's honor." 

"First off, you were never a Scout Winn. Second, you know Alex has a soft spot for you right?" You say amused at his rambling.

"Alex Danvers, a soft spot for me? Funny." He replies with a snort.

"Winn, you're literally the godfather to her daughter. She _loves_ you, so no, she wouldn't kill you. Torture, _maybe_ , but I wouldn't bet on it." You say and you laugh when you see his eyes almost pop out of their sockets.

" _GODFATHER?!_ " He says in that weird whisper-yell way again and it's your turn to snort.

"Chill, you're gonna have an aneurism." You laugh, but you sober up almost immediately when Alex walks into the room, followed by a couple people that seem to be doctors.

For half a second you're scared that she has heard your conversation with Winn, but you know she didn't when she immediately starts talking about what exactly they're going to be doing, and why. You appreciate it, because you really don't like needles, but you know it's necessary in this case, so when the first needle pierces the skin of your arm, you close your eyes and power through it the best you can.

* * *

They're done almost an hour later, and it's morning now. Alex had a watch on and you were able to see that it was almost 7am.

As soon as Alex and the doctors are out of the room, Winn is by your side again.

"Okay, I have a plan. Are we really doing this?" He asks, maybe a little too excited at the prospect of basically breaking you out of a secret governmental agency, but you nod nonetheless, getting up from your bed.

"We'll have to get around the guards, so we need a distraction. I can hack into the DEO servers and pretend there's an alien attack downtown, that way it'll be all hands on deck, Supergirl won't be here and we'll get a better chance." He explains rapidly with wild hand gestures.

"Are you sure that's going to work? We're only going to get one shot at this." You ask warily, though you don't doubt Winn's ability, you've seen him in action after all, but that was in the future, where he had more than a decade worth of experience hacking people for the DEO.

"Of course I'm sure; I'm no amateur you know. I even managed to hack Lena Luthor once." He states proudly and you snort before you can stop yourself.

"Yeah I know, and so did she buddy." You laugh out.

"What? No she didn't!" He exclaims back.

"Winn, please, we're talking about Lena Luthor here. She's a certified genius, literally. You're no match for her. Not now, and certainly not in the future." You say amused. "She _let you_ hack her."

"You're lying." He says defensively.

"Yeah sure, whatever you say." You snort again. "We should get started now though; how long is it going to take?" You ask, walking closer to him when he lifts a tablet from a nearby table and starts typing.

"About 5 minutes." He replies while focused.

"Felicity could have done it in 1." You laugh quietly, mostly to yourself, but he hears anyway and looks _very_ offended.

"Who's this _Felicity_ now?" He says exasperated.

"A friend. Don't worry about it." You say with an amused smile.

"If you're done criticizing my skills," he starts with a huff, "I'll get back to breaking you out of here. Unless you'd prefer _staying_?" He adds with a challenging look.

"Please, hack away." You say backing up to give him space.

It does indeed only take him about 5 minutes, and soon after you hear agents hurrying about the DEO, a clear indication that it worked. Nice.

"Okay let's go." He says, making sure that the coast is clear before moving into the hallway.

Most of the agents are in the main control center, and the few that you walk by don't pay you any attention, making your escape easy enough.

You make it surprisingly far before you get interrupted. You're halfway to the exit, pretty much completely exposed, you can see everyone focusing on the 'situation' at hand, but they're too preoccupied to notice you, thankfully. When someone steps in front of the both of you though, stopping you in your tracks, you think you're busted but Winn just grabs your hand and starts _chatting_ with what you thought was an agent.

"Mon-El, hey!" He exclaims, quietly enough that Alex, who is only a few feet away, won't hear though.

"Winn, what's up man?" He asks with a large smile. "You're not helping out with the rogue alien situation?"

"No, I uh- I'm babysitting my niece." He says a little too shakily to be very convincing but Mon-El doesn't seem to notice. You're not surprised.

"Oh? I didn't know you had a niece." He says looking at you with a smile. You _really_ hold yourself back from glaring at him.

"Yeah, my- my sister dropped her off unannounced. I'm taking her home. So I'll see you!" Winn says, obviously trying to get out of the conversation as fast as possible.

"Oh alright, see you man!" Mon-El says with a wave, stepping aside to let you pass.

You keep going, still holding tightly onto Winn's hand and keeping your head low. 

You make it to the elevator just a few seconds later and apart from a quick nod to Winn from one of the armed guards at the door, you make it without too much trouble.

"We made it!" Winn whisper-yells, voicing your exact thoughts, once you both step outside the building. You keep walking, trying to get as far from the building as possible, but you have a spring in your step now.

Once you're a couple of blocks away, you slow down, and step into an alley _just in case_ someone has realized you're gone already.

"Well, that’s the closest I've ever come to a heart attack. Let's not do _that_ again." Winn says, taking deep breath.

You snort but nod your head in agreement.

"So that guy back there was Mon-El then?" You ask, putting your blonde hair into a messy ponytail.

"Yeah, why?" He asks then seems to realize what you just said. "Wait, you've never seen him before?"

"Nah, that guy is _long gone_ by the time I join the family." You say with a laugh.

" _What_? But he's our friend?" He asks confused.

"Friends don't stab you in the back." You say, patting him on the arm. 

“What-“ He starts but you interrupt him before he can ask, "I think I need some new clothes." You say looking down at what you're wearing.

Your clothing doesn't look _too_ strange for this time period, but if someone happened to look close enough, they would definitely figure out that something weird is going on.

"Uh yeah, sure.” He stutters out, a little disoriented at the change in subject. “There's a mall a few blocks away?" He proposes with a shrug.

"No, that's too public. There must be somewhere else we can go that's not too far; we can't risk taking a cab." You say shaking your head.

"Why not?"

"Cabs have cameras, and so do malls. Too risky." You point out.

"Oh yeah, we're on the _run_!" He exclaims as if he has just realized that.

"No shit, Sherlock." You laugh quietly. "Okay so, in my time, there's a children clothing store a couple blocks away, maybe it's already there?" You say, pointing in the general direction of where you remember the store to be located.

"Alright, we'll give it a try then." He agrees and you walk to the entrance of the alley, making sure you can't see any DEO agents nearby before stepping out.

On your way to the store you take the opportunity to take a look around the city you know so well. It doesn't look _too_ different but a few things have obviously changed. Some of your favorite shops aren't there yet but that restaurant that your mom had told you about countless of times is still in business; the cars are _way_ different but you knew they would be so you're not too surprised.

When you get to your destination, you're glad to see that the store does in fact already exist. It has a different name and layout but as long as it has the same purpose, you don't really care. Unfortunately, it _is_ only 7:30am by the time you get there so the store isn't open yet.

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" Winn asks, starting to panic slightly. "We're out in the open right now, they can totally find us."

"We'll just grab breakfast at Noonan's while we wait; it's just across the street." You reply easily with a shrug. "They didn't even bother bringing me food at the DEO." You add with an annoyed frown.

"That's Kara's favorite place; wouldn't that be a little risky?" He asks unsurely and it makes you roll your eyes.

"I really doubt that that's where she'll go looking for us." You say raising an eyebrow. "She'll probably just fly above the city trying to locate us, not come into Noonan's."

He considers your words for a moment before giving in with a sigh.

"Fine, we'll go, but we're leaving as soon as the shop opens." He says firmly, pointing a finger at said shop.

"Deal." You say with a nod. "Now please, can we go? I'm _starving_." You groan out, already moving towards the café.

"Damn, you really _are_ Kara's kid." He mutters under his breath, but you hear him clearly and giggle to yourself.

_He's about to be real confused._

* * *

"A green juice and an açai bowl? There's _no way_ you're Kara's kid." He says with a serious shake of his head once the waitress leaves after taking your order. 

"Technically, I'm not." You reply with a shrug. “But yeah, I’m a bit of a health nut.”

"How did she take it when she found out?" He asks with an amused expression.

"She was fine with it; she's used to it with Ma'. Plus it's not like I don't like pancakes or anything, I just prefer the green juice." You say looking around at the other patrons, curious to see if you recognize anyone.

"Wait your other mom likes healthy stuff? And Kara _married_ her? Well I'll be damned." He says with a laugh just before the waitress comes back with what you both ordered.

For a few minutes you both focus on eating before he freezes and looks up at you with wide eyes.

"Wait a minute, you said that your Ma' likes healthy food and you didn't want to tell us your last name because we would recognize it which means we know her already. Holy shit, is it _Maggie_?!" He asks, whispering the last part as if anyone could hear you from your secluded booth.

"What? No! Are you crazy?" You reply with a full belly laugh.

"But- but Maggie's vegan, and we know her, and I was here when you arrived and you totally recognized her, and you were like surprised to see her with Alex so…" He trails off looking at you weirdly.

"It's not Maggie!" You insist with a laugh. "I was just surprised because she's not, _around_ , anymore." You explain softly with a shrug. "And I wasn't aware that I had time traveled then so yeah, I was confused, but definitely not because she's my mom." 

"What do you mean she's not around anymore? I thought her and Alex had a kid? You know, my _goddaughter_." He's confused, and you're not sure if you should tell him all of this, but you figure that you're in too deep already, so with a sigh, you explain.

"Jamie is Alex's daughter, but she's not Maggie's anything. They break up because Alex wants kids and Maggie doesn't. It's a mutual decision but it still hurts so they decide to not keep in touch." You say slowly with a shrug. 

"So is Jamie adopted too? How old is she? Is Alex with someone else? Is Jamie short for anything?" He fires off at you the second you're done talking and his excitement almost makes you choke on your green juice.

"Do you ever chill?" You ask laughing.

"Not really, no." 

"You definitely calm down when you reach your thirties." You snort out.

"Rude." He huffs. "So?"

"Jamie isn't adopted; she's 12 and no, Jamie isn't short for anything." You answer, deciding to ignore his fourth question.

"She's not adopted?" He asks again confused.

"IVF." You say simply.

"Ohhh, yeah that makes sense." He replies with a nod, making you giggle.

"Winn?" A voice to your left asks and when you turn to see who it is you see a very confused James Olsen.

"James! What's up man?" Winn asks happily before realizing that perhaps he shouldn't be.

"Kara has been looking for you. She called me completely panicked and said to let her know if I heard anything from you. What's going on?" He asks walking closer, looking at you with a frown.

"I uh- it's complicated," Winn replies, voice higher than usual.

"Well should I call her?" He asks, already moving to grab his phone from his pocket.

"No!" You and Winn shout simultaneously, making James' frown deeper.

"Look, you can't tell Kara where we are. It's complicated and we can't explain but you just have to trust me alright?" Winn explains quickly with a sigh.

" _'We'_?" James asks. "Care to introduce me?" 

Winn looks at you in a panicky way and you almost laugh but you manage to hold yourself back.

"Hi, I'm Lori. It's nice to meet you." You say with a smile.

"Okay, and why can't Kara know where you are?" He asks you as if you were a barely cognitive _toddler_ and it makes you groan.

"It's complicated." You answer.

"You're expecting me to lie to Kara and the only explanation I get is that 'it's complicated'?" He asks Winn, disbelief written on his face.

" _Please_ James, it's really important that you don't tell her, or anyone at the DEO, where we are." Winn pleads with him and you can't tell that James isn't used to Winn asking something of him so he just stands there for a minute, pondering his words.

"Fine, I won't tell her, but I need you to tell me what's going on." He sighs out, moving to sit next to Winn in the booth.

"Promise?" You ask, finishing your green juice.

"Yeah sure." He replies with a shrug.

"Say it." You insist, resting your head on your fist, staring at him.

"What?” He asks confused but you just skip staring. “I- I promise. There, happy?" He asks with a nervous chuckle after a few seconds.

"Very." You say with a satisfied smirk. "So, I'm from the future." You start.

" _What!_ " Is what loudly comes out of James' mouth next.

"Look I don't care if you panic, just panic quietly." You say looking around the café to make sure nobody's focused on your conversation.

When you look back at him his mouth is still open and Winn is laughing quietly.

* * *

Once James is up to date, he's definitely late for work, and as he goes to check his phone, he sees that he has half a dozen missed calls from Kara.

"She's going to kill me." He groans out, standing up hurriedly.

"Aren't you the boss? Just tell her you had a meeting or something." You tell him with a shrug.

"I'm just CatCo's art director, hardly what I would call the boss." He laughs. "But I guess I could tell her I was meeting with someone yeah, thanks Lori." He smiles at you gratefully, grabbing his half empty coffee cup on the table.

" _Right_ , you're welcome!" You answer with a smile maybe a tad too big.

_So Cat Grant is still in town then. Sweet._

"I better get going; I'll see you guys later?" He asks hesitantly.

"Perhaps." You say with a shrug. 

You honestly don't know, but you hope you won't if it means that you can just go home already.

"Right, well, good luck with everything I guess, and don't worry, I won't tell Kara I saw you." He swears.

"Thanks James." Winn replies with a grateful smile, and before he leaves, gives him a fist bump. 

Once he's gone you turn back to Winn with a frown.

"What are _you_ going to do about work? Because if you have to go you can, I can handle myself." You remark.

"It's fine, I texted Eve before we left the DEO so she's covering for me today." He reassures quickly. "We should go get you some clothes now though, and then head to wherever you're planning on going." He says as he's moving out of the booth.

You agree with a nod, standing up as well. "We're going to need a couple of blueberry and white chocolate muffins before we go though." You inform him, walking closer to the counter to place your order.

"Dude, how are you still hungry?" He asks in awe, handing over some cash for you to pay with. "I thought you _weren't_ an alien." He whispers to you, making sure no one but you can hear him.

"I'm not, those aren't for me." You say, right before handing the cash over to the cashier.

"Then who did I just buy food for?" He asks confused.

"Jess." You reply simply, accepting the brown paper bag filled with the baked goods being handed to you with a smile.

"Who's Jess?" He asks you confused, and that makes you just as confused.

"You don't know who Jess is?" You're not sure if he's teasing or not.

"Should I?" He asks, holding the door open for you as you walk out of Noonan's.

"Umm, yes? I mean, I thought you would by now. But I guess not." You answer, still confused. "Well, you'll meet her soon now I guess."

"Why? Who is she?" He asks, walking alongside you as you cross the road towards the now open clothing store.

"She works at L-Corp; which is where we're headed after this." You explain, nodding in the direction of the store.

"Why are we going to L-Corp? I thought you wanted to go see your mother." 

He opens the door to the shop for you and you thank him with a smile but you still roll your eyes in annoyance.

"Yes, and we are." You say slowly, hoping that he'll understand what you're saying.

He's silent for a few seconds as you start to look around the shop and you groan at what you see.

_Everything is pink_. This is your worst nightmare.

You head towards a neutral looking section because you spot a few simple black items that look pretty nice, and Winn is quick to follow behind you.

"Wait! So your mom works at L-Corp then? Is it Jess?" He asks with wide-eyes.

"It's not Jess, but yes, she does work there." You say as you browse through leather jackets.

He hums pensively before focusing back on you. "A leather jacket? You sure you're not Alex's kid?" He asks with a snort.

"So because Kara's my mom I have to wear dresses and cardigans? That's a stupid concept." You roll your eyes, moving on to the t-shirts.

"No, it's just- you don't seem to be very 'Kara-like' that's all. And for someone that was raised by her, I figured you'd be more alike." He says with a shrug. 

"So what you're saying is that, if someone raises you, you have to be like them in some way? Because you don't strike me as a mass murderer." You point out, raising your eyebrow in challenge. "Unless there's something you need to tell me, _Toyman Junior_."

He just stands there with his mouth open for a good 10 seconds before he manages to say something. "You know about my dad?" He asks quietly, looking around nervously.

"Of course. Everyone knows about your dad Winn, you have the _exact_ same name." You laugh. "But everyone also knows that you're nothing like him, so breathe." You say as you grab a few items to try on. "But my point is, I might not eat or dress similarly to mom, but that doesn't mean she isn't my _mom_." You respond with a shrug as you walk towards the dressing rooms. But then you stop in your tracks and turn around to face him. "Wait, you don't think I'm lying do you?"

"What?! No, of course not! I'm sorry; it was a stupid thing to say." He apologizes quickly.

You hum suspiciously before finally entering a dressing room.

You wonder what would happen if Winn started to doubt you. Would he turn you in? You know he didn't take his phone with him because, _hello_ , but he could totally drag you back to the DEO, you really don't weight much. Or he could just yell for Supergirl, she'd certainly hear him.

"Is she around a lot?" You hear from behind the curtain separating you from the outside world as you're trying on some jeans.

"What?" You ask, confused and distracted.

"Kara. Is she… you know, around? Or is she too busy with her _activities_?" He asks in a whisper though you're pretty sure that apart from the couple of employees you saw when you  
walked in, you're the only ones here.

"Oh yeah, she always makes time for us. Me and Ma' I mean." You say, putting a burgundy sweater on top of your shirt.

"So her duties don't get in the way too much?" He asks as you take the sweater off, not satisfied.

"No. Well; they _might_. But if she knows that you guys or the NCPD can handle it, then she'd rather stay home with us. She’s gotten pretty good at delegating." You reply as you step out of the stall, the clothes you want to get in hand. "Okay, enough questions, we need to be at L-Corp by 9am at the latest." You say, walking over to the cashier.

"Why?" Winn questions confused, already taking out his wallet.

"Jess takes a break at 9:05 every morning to get a refill of coffee. That's when we'll sneak in." You explain, grabbing the bag handed to you with a smile. "So we need to get a move on."

"We're going to _sneak_ into L-Corp? Do you have a death wish?! The security there is insane!" Winn panics, making you laugh.

"We'll be fine, come on."

* * *

"So listen, once we get to L-Corp, I need you to tell the security guards that you're here to see Jess and that it's a surprise." You explain once you're only a few minutes away from your destination.

"I thought we were sneaking in?" Winn asks confused.

"We can't just _sneak_ into L-Corp, we'll just sneak past Jess when the time comes. But to do that, she can't know we're coming. So, pretend you went on a date or something and that you're surprising her with the pastries today, alright?" You ask, walking a little bit faster now, excited/nervous to reach the building. 

"Will they buy it? I mean, L-Corp's security is _really_ tight." You can see him starting to sweat.

"Don't worry, you look just like her type, they shouldn't question us too much, but you need to sell this." You warn. You don't want to think about what might happen if he doesn't.

"Should I use my real name? What do you mean by her type anyway? And who should I say you are? Wouldn't they find it weird that a _kid_ is with me?" He asks, breathing fast.

"Winn, relax." You say firmly, stopping in the middle of the sidewalk, a business man almost bumping into you as he's walking, looking down at his phone. "Use your real name, L-Corp has a facial recognition system that will identify you even before we walk into the building; you're Jess' type because you're awkward and nerdy, and it doesn't matter who I am, just say whatever comes to mind, as long as you sell it right we should be just fine." You explain slowly. "You can do this Winn."

"Wouldn't the facial recognition system alert them that you, you know, _don't_ exist? Also how do you know about this? I _didn't_ and I've looked thoroughly into this company." He asks suspiciously.

"Don't worry, for legal reasons they can't use it on minors. And my mom works here remember, so I know stuff you don't, deal with it." You reply with a smirk. "Now come on, we can't be late."

As you start walking again you can hear him muttering to himself and it makes you shake your head in amusement but hopefully he's just giving himself a pep talk.

Once you finally see the building in his full glory your breath catches a little.  
It looks different. Most of it is the same but it's the little things that make you feel weird. There is no one lingering outside. In your time, there are always several food trucks parked in front of the building, and employees and guests often come down there on breaks. You've been there with your Ma' more times than you can count.

But here, people are just going in and out, barely looking at each other and that's when you remember the conversation your moms had with you a few years ago about the Luthors’ reputation.  
In this time, people still fear them, fear her. Which honestly seems insane to you because Lena Luthor is such a softy.

But you find yourself smiling anyway, because in a little less than a decade, people finally realize how good your Ma' is and _finally_ show her the love and respect she deserves.

"You're ready?" You ask Winn, shaking yourself out of your thoughts before grabbing his hand. _You gotta sell this._

"Nope." He says but starts walking as confidently as he can towards the front doors.

* * *

One of the security guards has been staring at the both of you in silence for a good minute now and you can feel Winn's hand becoming clammy in yours.

He seems to be the last step between the lobby you're awkwardly standing in and the elevator and you pray to Rao that he lets you through.

You've gone through metal detectors, Winn got a full body search, and they even cut open the pastries to make sure there was nothing foreign in there, and yet they are still hesitant to let you up.

As planned, Winn pretended that he was here to see Jess, and he was so flushed and nervous that they believed him instantly (one of the guards even laughed at him), but he _is_ Toyman's son, and once they had figured that out, they had become a lot more reluctant to give you access to the building.

"How do you know Miss Huang?" The guard asks. He's not frowning, or showing any emotion really, which makes a shiver run down your spine. You _know_ what L-Corp security is capable of after all.

"As- As I told your colleague, Jess and I went on a date a couple days ago. And I'm here to surprise her." Winn replies shakily, showing the guard the pastries he's holding.

"I'm aware; but how did you make her acquaintance, Mr. Schott?" He asks firmly, taking a step closer to the both of you, staring Winn straight in the eyes, making him even more nervous than he was.

You can see that Winn is starting to struggle, he can't come up with anything and the guard's hand is slowly moving to his holster, eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. 

"It was a blind date!" You exclaim, surprising yourself and everyone around.

"Pardon me?" The guard asks, turning to you perplexed.

"My uncle thinks that admitting to people that it was a blind date will make him seem less manly because he couldn't get the girl on his own you know? But I think that's stupid, so just tell him that Kara set you up with Jess, Winnie, there's no shame." You say quickly with the fakest sweet smile you can muster, turning to Winn at the end with a look that says _'Don't screw this up'._

"Right yes, that's… what happened." Winn says, looking at the guard with a nod.

"Oh, Miss Kara from Catco?" The guard asks but doesn't wait for an answer. "She comes here often, such a sweet girl." He says, looking at you with a smile before backing up and using his keycard to activate the elevator. 

"Say hi to her for me when you see her next alright? And good luck with Jess, Mr. Schott." He finishes with a wink before going back to his original post next to another guard.

"Thank- thank you." Winn stutters out, and before he can say anything else, you drag him inside the elevator.

You press the button for the 23rd floor and wait for the doors to close and the elevator to start moving before turning to Winn.

"There are at least 15 ways this could have gone better. Literally. Like, I'm counting them right now." You say, crossing your arms and raising an eyebrow at his still flushed complexion.

"Well _excuse me_ but I'm not an actor alright? I didn't sign up for this!" He whisper-yells at you with wild hand gestures.

"You insisted on coming with, so yeah, you kinda did." You reply with a laugh as the doors of the elevator open back up.

You walk out, making sure to grab Winn's hand in yours again so that you can guide him. You directly go for the bathroom and lock the door behind the both of you.

"What are we doing?" Winn asks in a whisper.

"It's only 9:04; we have to wait for Jess to move." You explain quietly, pointing at the watch on his wrist so that he can see for himself.

"Okay, and then what?" 

"And then we sneak into Lena Luthor's office and pray that she doesn't press the silent alarm before we can explain." 

His eyes go wide and he opens his mouth to say something but you quickly cover it with your hand because you can hear familiar heels walking past the bathroom in the direction of the break room.

"Shut up." You whisper before removing your hand. "Let's go." You order, almost pushing him out the door.

You see him try to say something again but you firmly shake your head, "There's no time. Walk." You say firmly, pushing him in the direction of the CEO's office.

You quickly walk towards Jess empty desk and grab the pastry bag from Winn's hand before depositing it in front of her computer.

Winn still looks panicked but you don't try to reassure him because you _really_ don't have time, but you grab him by the hand again and open the double doors that lead to Lena's office and walk in before locking the door behind you.

"Jess, what's going-" The brunette starts but stops as she notices that you two are definitely not her assistant.  
The first thing that you notice is that she looks exactly the same. Like eerily the same. You've seen pictures of your moms when they were younger so you knew that she wouldn't look much different, but seeing it with your own two eyes makes it just weird.  
This version of Lena could easily be your Ma', the one from your time. 

But it's not and that's exactly why you're here.

You see her right hand moving to where you know her silent alarm is and you panic slightly.

"Don't! Please, we just need your help." You plead and she hesitates. She looks at you for a moment, unmoving but then she moves her gaze to Winn and her eyes widen just slightly. 

"Mr. Schott?" She asks confused. "What's going on?" 

"Lena, hi." Winn says awkwardly with a wave. "I'm uh- not sure?" He says wincing at his own admission. "Lori?"

"Lori?" Lena repeats confused, her eyes settling back on you. "How did you two get in here? Security should have alerted me, and if not them, then Jess." She asks, but is really mostly talking to herself.  
"Where is my assistant Mr. Schott?" She looks angry now and Winn takes a step back even though you're already standing on the other side of the room.

"She's on her 9am coffee break." You say quickly, trying to diffuse the situation, taking a few steps closer to her. "She's fine." You assure the brunette, who seems to relax just slightly. 

"But she clearly didn't let you in here, so again, what's going on?" She demands, standing from her seat and walking closer to her purse where you know she keeps her beloved taser.

"No need for that." You say softly, gesturing to the purse. "We're not here to hurt you; we just need your help with something."

She looks a little scared when she understand that you knew exactly the reason she was walking closer to her purse for, and Winn, who has noticed too, walks closer to the both of you and explains softly.

"Listen, this is going to sound bad but yes, we lied to your security downstairs and sneaked past Jess in order to get to you, which to be honest I'm still a little confused about," he says pensively, looking at you briefly, "but we don't mean you any harm, it's just… complicated."

"Well then explain." She says firmly, crossing her arms defensively.

"Well, this is Lori." Winn starts hesitantly, pointing at you. "We're here to see her mother. But I guess we need you first." He says with a frown.

"Are you serious?" You ask him in disbelief, turning to look at him exasperated.

"What?" He answers confused.

"You're _actually_ telling me that you haven't figured it out yet?"

"Figured what out?" He asks with panicked eyes. "Oh my god, is this a prank?! J'onn and Alex are behind this aren't they?" he asks, looking around the room for what you're guessing are hidden cameras.

"Winn, shut up!" You yell, making him freeze. 

You take a moment to breathe before focusing back on a confused looking Lena Luthor.

"My name is Lori." You say slowly. "Long story short, I'm from the future. I somehow ended up at the DEO with no recollection of what happened, Winn helped me break out, and now I need your help because I know you've been working on time travel for the past few years."

Lena is silent for a good while, Winn hasn't dared to move yet either so for a moment there it almost feels like time has stopped.

"Why would you need to break out of the DEO? Wouldn't they help you?" She settles on asking, and it makes Winn react.

"Wait a minute, how do you know about the DEO?" He wonders, confused.

"Mr. Schott, you hacked my company with a DEO server, it's entirely your fault." She replies simply before looking back you.

You laugh at the look on Winn's face because you know it's not true. Lena knew about the DEO even before moving to National City, only because they aren't as discreet as they like to think. Plus, you can't keep much from a Luthor. 

"They could have probably helped, but they don't believe me. And since I don't know how I got here it could mean that my family, my time, is in danger. So I need to go back to them, sooner rather than later."

"And do what? You're 8." She asks with a scoff.

"I'm _10_." You reply offended. "And I'll do whatever I need to do."

She hums pensively, leaning against her desk, clearly not feeling threatened anymore.

"How do you know about my work on time travel? Apart from Jess, no one knows about it." She asks suspiciously.

"You told me all about it, like, 2 years ago." You explain with a shrug.

"And why on earth would I tell a _child_ about a confidential project of mine?" she asks with another scoff.

"Well, for one, it's not top secret in the future, and you didn't just tell a child, you told _your_ child. As a matter of fact, it was my bedtime story for a few weeks." You respond with a smirk, and immediately her face falls.

"You're-" She starts shakily but gets interrupted.

"WHAT?!" Winn yells out.

"And he finally understands." You say to yourself, rolling your eyes.

You hear someone trying to open the door to Lena's office but thankfully, you locked it from the inside.

"Miss Luthor?" You hear a panicked Jess ask from the other side of the door. "Is everything alright? Do you need me to call security?"

"But that means that- Oh my god!" Winn is still yelling and Lena is still in shock.

"Miss Luthor?!" Jess asks again when she receives no answer from her boss.

"Everything is alright Jess." Lena finally answers just loud enough for her secretary to hear. "Please cancel my meetings for the rest of the day."

"Of course, Miss Luthor." Is the last thing you hear from Jess before Winn starts yelling again.

"Lori! You didn't tell me Lena _freaking_ Luthor was your mother!" 

"Why would I when I get the joy of seeing you freak out over it now?" You ask laughing. "Honestly I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out."

"Because it's _Lena_! And that means that her and… okay, I think I need to sit down." He says as he moves to the couch in the CEO's office.

"You're my daughter? I have a daughter?" Lena asks softly.

"You do, and I am." You confirm with a nod.

"But you're- what year are you from?" She asks shakily.

"2033." You say with a small smile.

"And you're 10 years old?" She asks again.

"Yes."

"So in, what, 4 years, I'm going to have a _baby_?" She asks in disbelief.

"No, you guys only take me in when I'm 5." You reply with a laugh.

"Oh my god." You hear Winn mutter from the back of the room.

"So I'm with someone then? Someone that wanted to raise a child with me?" She asks almost in awe and your heart breaks a little.

"Yeah, someone that loves you more than you can imagine." You say softly with a smile.

"But who?" She asks almost inaudibly.

"I can't believe Kara wouldn't tell me she had a thing for _Lena Luthor_." Winn mutters to himself again and you send him a fiery look.

"Winn!" His head snaps up and his eyes widen when he realizes what he just said.

"Oh my god, I-"

" _Kara?_ " Lena asks and when you look back at her she's looking at you with so much hope in her eyes that you can't possibly lie to her. 

_Fuck the timeline._ Worst case scenario, you'll beg J'onn to erase that part of her memory.

"Yeah." You affirm with a nod. "My full name is Lorelai Luthor-Danvers."

* * *

"And you're completely certain that we're talking about the same Kara here? Kara _Danvers_." Lena asks and you roll your eyes at her fondly.

"Let's see," You start with a laugh, "Reporter for Catco Worldwide Media, usually eats enough to feed an army, incapable of keeping secrets even though she's convinced that she can, last daughter of Krypton, Kara Danvers?" You ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, same one then." Lena agrees with a shaky nod before going to sit next to Winn on the couch.

You're just sitting down on the coffee table so that you're facing them both when Winn realizes what just happened and his head shoots up almost comically.

"Hold on!" He exclaims turning quickly to look at Lena. "You _know_!" He accuses, pointing what he probably hopes to be a threatening finger at the CEO.

"That my best friend is Supergirl? Please, I'm not _that_ stupid. It's just glasses and a ponytail." Lena replies with a scoff and a roll of her eyes.

"But- you never said anything." He replies confused.

"And to whom would I say something to, Mr. Schott?" She asks bitterly and it makes you flinch. "My entourage isn't very big, in case you haven't noticed."

That seems to shut him up for a second and when he speaks again, he sounds apologetic.

"Does Kara know?" He asks softly.

"I don't believe so, no." Lena answers with a shake of her head. "I've been waiting for her to come to me about it, but it hasn't happened yet." 

"It will." You chip in with a knowing smile.

"I would hope so considering we have a _child_ together." Lena replies with a nervous chuckle.

"It's so _weird_." Winn mutters looking between you and Lena.

Slowly, almost hesitantly, the brunette looks up and studies every inch of your face for a few moments, silence filling the room.

"Are you happy?" She asks softly and you instantly recognize the Lena you met 5 years ago.

When you first met them, Lena was so soft, always so careful and quiet with you, not wanting to overwhelm you. Kara was the opposite; in a good way. She was loud and funny and always made you join her dance parties as she cooked breakfast for the three of you. They balanced each other perfectly. 

"So happy." You reply just as softly, dimples showing with how much you're smiling.

You see her tear up and you know it's because she's relieved. Relieved and happy that she has a daughter that loves her and that your relationship isn't similar to the one she had with Lillian. 

"Can I hug you?" She asks in a whisper and you don’t hesitate to launch yourself at her, wrapping your arms around her neck and holding on tight.

You've missed her _so much_.

" _Oh_." She whispers as she hugs you back slowly, still so careful.

You stay there for a couple minutes, neither of you moving, just holding each other, before you pull back with a soft smile and slide off her lap to sit between her and Winn on the couch.

"Kara, how- how did she react?" She asks quietly, nervously playing with her hands.

"She wasn't… thrilled?" You start, but as soon as you see the look of panic and pain appear in her eyes, you try to backtrack, "Not about the being married to you part though! Just about the… _me_ part, I guess." You explain with a shrug. "I didn't tell her about you anyway, I was scared it would mess up the timeline."

"But you told _me_ , isn't that a little risky? I mean, what if it changes everything?" She asks quickly, now clearly a little panicked.

"Well, let's hope not!" You reply with a nervous laugh. "But I really need you to send me back so that I don't have to worry about it anymore." 

"But- my research isn't done, the machine _doesn't work_. The wormhole replica keeps on collapsing, I've been working on that alone for months, I haven't been able to find a solution." She replies painfully, looking at you with sorrow.

"So let me get this clear." Winn speaks up, taking a deep breath. You had almost forgotten he was here. "We broke out of the DEO, bought food for a girl that I'm apparently supposed to know but have never even _heard of_ before, bought you clothes so that you could blend in easily, came all the way here, lied to a bunch of people that could have _easily_ killed us, and all of that for _nothing _?!"__

"It wasn't for nothing Winn; she's the smartest person in National City, and a Luthor, we can figure this out." You assure him calmly.

"You say that like it's a good thing." Lena says with wonder in her voice.

"What?" 

"Me being a Luthor, when you talk about it, it sounds like it's a good thing. The only person that has ever done that is Kara." She admits quietly, and you can tell she's touched, and maybe a little overwhelmed at the thought.

"It _is_ a good thing. I know that right now people's opinions of you are based on what your family has done but they'll see the light." You reply with a confident nod. "Mom is only the first of many." 

"Okay this is sweet, but we need a plan here." Winn interrupts, clapping his hands once to grab your attention.  
“Well we should go down to the lab and see what we're working with. I don't remember everything from the stories you told me, but maybe something will come back. And we should bring Jess." You list off as you stand up and walk to the door.

"Jess?" Winn asks confused.

"She may be my assistant Mr. Schott, but Jess also graduated from MIT and has helped me on many occasions." Lena replies as she joins you next to the door.

" _Interesting_." He replies with a smirk, which makes you chuckle, and gets up. Or tries to; because as soon as he's up, he's falling back down on the couch, screeching in fear at the blur flying through the closed, and previously intact, door of the CEO's balcony.

Supergirl lands in the middle of the office as glass flies everywhere, thankfully not harming any of you, but the sudden noise scares you and you reflexively hide behind Lena, who wraps an arm around you instinctively. 

"Lena!" Kara shouts, quickly walking over to her and grabbing her hand, tugging her away from you.

"Supergirl-" She tries to protest but doesn't get very far.

"You're safe now Miss Luthor." The blonde says confidently and you see your ma' rolling her eyes, and in the middle of the chaos, you almost burst out laughing at her attitude. _Almost._

"Oh my god, please don't kill me, I'm _so_ sorry." Winn begs as he stands up cautiously, holding his hands up, looking at Kara with puppy eyes.

"I won't have to, Alex called dibs." Kara replies icily, not taking her eyes off of you.

"Oh lord." Winn whines, sitting back down, head in his hands.

"Supergirl-" Lena tries again but is once more interrupted.

"Miss Luthor?!" Comes from behind the door you're standing next to.

"I'm alright Jess, no need to panic." Lena calls back calmly, and you hear Jess walking away after a few seconds, sighing loudly enough to be heard through the door.

"Agents are on their way up, you have nowhere to go." Kara warns you, and the tone of voice she uses to address you makes you shake in fear a little. You obviously know what your mom is capable of, and being on the receiving end of her threats doesn't feel good at all.

"I don't exactly have anywhere to go Mom!" You yell back in frustration, angry tears appearing in your eyes.

"I'm not your mom!" She yells back just as frustrated, taking a threatening step towards you, all the while keeping Lena safely behind her.

You look at her for a second, hurt. Your mom would never speak to you this way. Hell, she would never even yell when you're around. She never wanted you to see this side of hers; the side that deals with criminals.

"Clearly." You reply cuttingly, wiping away a tear, moving to sit next to Winn, not caring about her yelling at you not to move.

"Lori…" Lena whispers, trying to get closer to you but Kara stops her with a hand on her arm.

"Miss Luthor." The blonde warns, shaking her head.

"Supergirl, she's-"

"Freeze!" Alex yells as she bursts into the room, kicking the door open, followed by a few other agents. Jess is also following closely being them looking annoyed, clearly trying to understand what _the hell_ is going on. You're glad your Ma' gives her a promotion in the future, she definitely deserves it.

Despite the guns you know are being pointed at you, you don't look up from your lap, not acknowledging Alex's presence.

"STOP!" Lena yells as soon as there's a second of silence, surprising everyone.

"Lena-" Kara starts with a frown.

"Miss Luthor, this girl escaped from our facility; she might be dangerous and needs to be detained." Alex explains firmly, her gun and gaze still on you.

"I'm not dangerous!" You yell angrily, standing up suddenly. "I'm 10 years old, and as I'm sure your test results have proven by now, I'm completely human. So please explain to me how that makes me dangerous, because I'm at a loss here." 

"You _escaped_." Alex points out, almost snarling at you.

"Because you wouldn't help me! I just want to go _home_!" You cry out, voice cracking on the last word, the tears you've been trying to stop finally spilling out.

You sit back down defeated, shoulders shaking with every sob, and this time, Kara isn't able to hold off Lena from going to you.  
In a flash, she's kneeling in front of you, as much as she can in her pencil skirt anyway, and rubbing your arms soothingly, telling you that everything is going to be alright. Your tears fall a little faster at that.

"Lena, step away from her. She could be lying." Kara warns, taking a cautious step towards the couch.

"She knows stuff, about us. She's not lying." Winn points out suddenly, grabbing everyone's attention, including yours.

"You look pretty good for a dead man." Alex replies coldly, now pointing her gun at him while the other agents keep theirs on you.

"Look, I know I messed up but she can't possibly be lying. She knew exactly when Jess wouldn't be at her desk and she knew what to say to the guards downstairs. We need to help her." Winn says calmly, for once standing up to Alex. You're a little proud.

"Oh. Maybe I should switch up my schedule." Jess says with a frown from the back of the room.

"Don't." You tell her quickly, and after a second, she nods her agreement though she looks at you puzzled.  
"She might not be lying about being from the future, but she could be lying about who she is. We can't take any chances; she could have an ulterior motive. For example, why did you guys come here in the first place? Sounds like another assassination attempt on a Luthor if you ask me." Alex says, raising an eyebrow at Lena when she sees her still trying to comfort you.

"I would _never_." You say angrily. "I'm not a killer, I'm just a _kid_. And I would never hurt my- hurt Lena."

"Then why are you here?!" Alex asks again, switching her gun back to you.

"Because that's what she told me to do!" You yell back, making everyone in the room pause and look at each other in confusion. You take a few deep breaths before continuing. "Lena, the one from my time, taught me what to do in case I ever ended up in the wrong time. And she told me to go and find her. So I did." You explain slowly. "Time travel, teleportation, even travels to other earths, are a lot more common in 2033. They're not accessible to the public, but accidents happen, so she wanted to be sure I wouldn't be completely lost if I ever got lost in time, for whatever reason. The DEO may have alien technology and great personnel, but Lena is _Lena_."

"We're with the FBI." Alex says firmly, only breaking eye contact with you to look at Lena for a second, who meets her gaze with a raised eyebrow.

"The hills are alive, with the sound of bullshit." Jess mutters from the back, but everyone hears her very clearly and turns around to look at her, baffled; except for Lena, that barely suppresses a laugh. But in true Jess fashion, she just shrugs and walks away, going back to her desk to keep on working. 

"No need to lie Agent Danvers, I'm well aware of your true occupation." Lena comments, standing up slowly but staying by your side. "I'll sign a NDA if you need me to, but right now we need to focus on getting Lori home." She says in the tone that she usually only uses with her board members. 

"But if you _are_ my daughter, wouldn't future-me come and get you? I don't exactly see myself leaving my kid stranded in time." Kara asks you, stepping in front of Alex, forcing her to lower her gun.

" _I_ don't even know how I got here, so I'm not sure you do either. And maybe something happened to you, I don't know." You reply with a shrug and a sad frown.

The blonde still doesn't look totally convinced, but you can tell that what you're saying makes sense to her, in a way.  
Honestly though, as long as they don't lock you up, you don't care if they believe you or not. At least Lena does and frankly, it's her you need the most.

"Maybe we should try and contact your time then, instead of trying to build a freaking time machine." Alex chimes in, holstering her gun with a huff and stepping around Kara, mentioning to the other agents to lower their weapons as well.

"Technically the time machine is already built, Agent Danvers." Lena retorts with a smirk, crossing her arms.

" _What?_ " Alex asks, a little caught off guard. "You managed to build a time machine? Can I see it?"

"Obviously it isn't operational; otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. And you may see it, later, as long as you sign an NDA." Lena adds with a small, knowing smile.

"Okay, that's fair." Alex says with a nod.

"But I suppose you are right, we should focus on contacting, well, the future." Lena says as if she doesn't quite believe what just came out of her mouth.

"How are we going to do that?" You ask puzzled.

"I can probably build a trans-temporal communicator of some sort." Winn says with a shrug, looking at Alex as if asking for permission.

"You think you can pull that off?" She asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Alone? Hell no. But with you and Lena? Piece of cake." He responds with a big smile.

"But hold on, wouldn't they need to have a communicator too, to hear us?" You ask no one in particular.

"Not if I can hack a signal." Winn replied with a shrug.

"Your plan is to hack something that doesn't exist yet? Yeah, makes perfect sense." You say sarcastically.

"But if we build one now, in this time, wouldn't it automatically exist then, too?" Kara asks.

"Depends. Time is… strange. What is happening now might not have caught up with them, _us_ , yet." Lena says regretfully.

"That's why they don't know where I am. You do, so technically future-you should too, but it might take days, weeks even, for future-you to remember. What I do now doesn't have an impact on the future yet." You explain slowly. You're so thankful you listened in school when they taught you about all this stuff.

"So what do we do?" Kara asks with a sigh, looking defeated.

"If I can build the communicator and connect it to Lori's timeline, they might be able to hear us if they have a similar device. We should give it a try, we have nothing to lose." Winn offers with a shrug.

* * *

You're in Lena's apartment, awkwardly sitting on the couch with Kara, still dressed as Supergirl, while Lena, Winn, Jess and Alex are in the brunette's private lab at L-Corp, working on the trans-temporal communicator.

"The food should be here soon." The blonde says, clearing her throat.

"You should have gotten it yourself, it would have been faster." You point out, looking around at the living room.

It's pretty, if not a little bare. You'd seen it in pictures before, but from the time your moms were dating so the place was a little more decorated, more homey; right now it looks a little… barren. There are no pictures hanging, no art; just blank white walls.

"And leave you alone? No." Kara answers with a scoff.

"I'm not going to run away or wreak havoc you know? I _need_ you guys." You answer sadly.

She looks at you for a moment, and finally decides to ask the question you know she had been dying to ask since you showed up, though she still looks somewhat hesitant.

"Who- Who's your other mom?" 

"I can't tell you." You reply regretfully. "I don't want to mess up the-"

"The timeline, yeah, I know." She interrupts with a huff.

"Why are you so upset with all of this? I mean I get that it's a little overwhelming to have your daughter from the future show up out of nowhere, but… to see you be so- so disappointed with everything, it hurts." You ask softly, really hoping that you won't regret asking her.

"I just- It's weird okay? All of this. Me, being _married_. And while I never pictured myself with a woman before, it doesn't feel as strange as everything else. I mean, I have a _daughter_? Well, allegedly, but still." She says, stopping to gather her thoughts before looking straight at you. "Being the last daughter of Krypton, Supergirl, and an alien, I never thought I'd have a family of my own. Of course I have Alex and Eliza, and my friends; but a wife and a daughter?" She shakes her head in disbelief. "Yeah, like you said, it's a little overwhelming." She admits with a hollow laugh.

"I'm sorry." You reply sadly. "Believe me, while it's kind of cool seeing you guys so young and different, I'd much rather be home."

"It's not your fault. Well, I don't think it is anyway." She answers with a real chuckle this time, and a little smile.

"I hope not, otherwise you and Ma' are going to kill me." You reply quickly. "Or well, future-you, I mean." You correct yourself.

"It's fine." She assures you, and gets up just before the delivery guy rings the bell.

"Food's here!" She announces happily, as if that wasn't obvious.

You burst out laughing at the look on the guy's face when he realizes that Supergirl just answered the door.

* * *

"So, you only get adopted when you're 5?" Kara asks as she grabs another slice of pizza, eyes still focused on the movie you both picked out.

"Yup." 

"And why were you- I mean…" She stutters awkwardly, turning her head to look at you.

"Why was I in the system?" You ask with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah."

"Well," you start with a sigh, "my mother left me in front of a firehouse when I was 3; and having no other relatives, I was put in the system. I went through a few foster homes, the last one being yours. My mother was doing time for child abandonment and got her parental rights terminated; and then, well, you adopted me." You answer with a shrug, taking a sip from your orange juice.

Kara is silent when you look back at her, eyes filled with pity and it annoys you.

"Don't look at me like that." You groan out. "It happened, it's in the past. I'm happy now. I've got the greatest family on the planet, and I wouldn't change a thing okay?" 

"If you could, would you?" She asks quietly.

"What?"

"If you could change _something_ , change your future, would you?" 

"No." You answer easily. "Being a part of this family is the best thing that could have ever happened to me." 

She smiles softly and moves her gaze back to the screen, apparently happy with your answer.

"You know," you start hesitantly; "you should stop giving terrible clues to Lena, and just tell her already."

She pauses the movie and quickly swallows the bit of pizza in her mouth - which honestly, she would have choked if she wasn't a Kryptonian - before turning to fully focus on you.

"J'onn doesn't trust her yet and ordered me not to say anything, so I thought that if she figured it out herself, technically it's not my fault you know? But it's taking _forever_."

"I _know_ , I from the future remember?" You laugh. "But seriously, just do it. J'onn will survive. Plus he does like her; he just doesn't want to admit it."

(Yes, you are aware that technically you shouldn't interfere with the future like that but, your Ma' knows already, so is speeding up the identity reveal really _changing_ the future?)

"Okay but what about Alex?" She asks worriedly.

"What about her?" You ask truly confused because you didn’t think that’s who she’d ask about.

"She'll be mad at me again for not being able to keep a secret. And I _hate_ fighting with Alex."

"Well you're not exactly trying to keep a secret, quite the contrary." You point out, raising an eyebrow at the blonde.

"I'll think about it." She answers with a sigh after a few seconds before going back to the movie.

“She won’t hate you.” You assure her in a soft whisper, looking at her knowingly when her eyes shift to you.

She stares for a short moment, clearly processing what you just said, before she admits, “I’m scared.” 

“I know.” You nod. “But she won’t, promise.” 

“Okay.” She whispers.

* * *

"I can't believe you got stabbed with a giant knitting needle." You hear Lena say, amused, as she opens the door to her apartment, followed by Alex and Winn.

"College was wild." Alex replies with a laugh. 

"Hey guys." Kara says, looking at the laughing group with a confused frown.

"So?" You ask hopefully.

"We're about halfway there; the device wasn't the hard part, and Jess is working on hacking a signal as we speak." Winn says as he comes to sit next to you. "Once that's done we'll be able to calibrate it properly."

"Okay." You accept with a nod. 

"We'll figure it out." He assures you with a smile.

“I trust you.” You assure him with a grateful smile.

“So what did you guys do all day?” Alex asks as she thanks Lena when the younger brunette hands her a beer.

“Watched old movies.” You answer, making Kara scoff in disbelief.

“Everything we watched came out this year!” She argues, standing up from the couch, ready to rant. 

"Exactly." You interrupt her before she can continue, and you hear Alex burst out laughing at the look on the superhero's face.

"Supergirl, a drink?" Lena asks from the kitchen and you can see Kara straightening up immediately.

"I uh- no thank you, Miss Luthor." She replies with a tight smile, and you roll your eyes in exasperation.

"Lena is fine, Supergirl." The brunette answers, just as annoyed if the look on her face is anything to go by. "Anyone hungry?" She moves on quickly.

"I can go get something." Alex offers, already moving to put her jacket back on.

"I'll go." Kara interrupts. "It'll be faster." She adds, winking in your direction.

"Alright." Alex agrees with a shrug, happy to go back to her beer.

"What are we in the mood for?" The Super asks the room.

Everyone except you starts throwing in suggestions and Kara is quickly yelling at everyone to stop.

"How about this? Lena's the host, she can choose." She offers, looking around the room to make sure that works for everyone.

At everyone's nod, Lena smiles in a touched kind of way, and after thinking about it for a second, smiles at Kara, in a devilish kind of way, "There's a place a couple blocks away, they have the most amazing Greek kale salad, and a bunch of other healthy options. I'm sure everyone will find something to their liking."

You see the hero's face go sickly white and you have to stop yourself from snorting.

"Sure, that sounds good." Alex replies, taking a swig of her beer.

"I'm in." Winn adds with an amused smile, looking between Kara and Lena.

"Awesome, I love kale!" You exclaim happily, grabbing Kara's attention.

" _What?_ " She asks you in disbelief.

"Is something wrong, Supergirl?" Lena asks in fake concern.

"Uh?" The blonde whirls around, looking at Lena innocently. "Of course not! I'll uh- just get everyone a salad. A good, nourishing, healthy salad." She says, convincing absolutely no one.

"Wonderful." Lena agrees. 

"I uh- I'll be back in a few." Kara smiles tightly before walking out to the balcony and flying away.

"Seriously?" You hear Lena mutter in disbelief. When you turn around, she's looking at you with a dumbfounded look on her face. "She'd rather eat _vegetables_ than tell me the truth?" She asks and you're not sure what to say.

You obviously weren't there for the identity reveal, but everyone had told you just how long it took your Mom to come clean to your Ma' about her true identity. Alex had admitted to you and Jamie that while she wasn't delighted when it happened, once she had seen just how much lighter and happier her little sister was, she had been more than happy that Kara had finally found the courage.

You think that you know what she meant now, because you can see it here. How awkward every interaction is. How tense Kara seems to be when she's wearing the cape and is being addressed as 'Supergirl' by Lena.

She hates lying to her, you know she does. She can't even keep a surprise birthday party from your Ma' now because she feels instantly guilty.

(Which is why you, Alex and Jamie have taken over birthday festivities for the past couple of years. Thankfully.)

So yeah, it's a little ridiculous.

"Apparently." You shrug helplessly, looking at Winn for help but he doesn't seem to know what to say either.

"Hold on." Alex says slowly with a dangerous glint in her eyes. " _You_ told her, didn't you." The redhead easily accuses you by pointing her beer bottle in your direction and you frown immediately at her tone.

"What?" 

"You told Lena _Luthor_ about my sister's secret identity and you expect me to still believe that you mean none of us harm?" She starts, slowly walking closer to you. 

"Alex, are we seriously still doing this?" Lena asks from where she's leaning against the kitchen island. "Lori didn't tell me anything I didn't already know." Lena affirms. "Well, that I didn't already know about Kara." She corrects herself a second later when she glances at you. "Okay, about her identity." She finishes with a satisfied nod after another second, making you giggle.

"You knew?" Alex asks unconvincingly, eyeing the two of you suspiciously.

"Her disguise might work for the general public, but Kara is my best friend Alex." Lena explains, raising her signature eyebrow at the redhead. "I knew."

"She's Lena _Luthor_." You add challengingly, raising a similar eyebrow at your aunt, daring her to say something else.

When she does a double take between the two of you, barely missing giving herself whiplash, you know you fucked up.

"HOLY SHIT!"

* * *

Dinner is really awkward. 

Alex doesn't talk. She just frowns, and stares, and frowns some more. She looks between you and your moms as she stabs her roasted cauliflower salad, never saying a word.

Kara hadn't immediately realized that something was amiss; whether it's because she was thinking of how awful kale tastes, or because the Super can be _really_ oblivious sometimes, you're not sure, but either way, she had definitely noticed as you all sat down to eat and the crinkle between her brows hasn't left since.

Of course, Lena looks at her like she's adorable because of it. 

(Good to know that hasn't changed.) 

Winn, bless him, is trying to make conversation as best he can; talking about technological and medical advances with the brunette, trying to get Alex into it as well but to no avail.

You, for the most part, are trying to ignore the disgusted faces and noises Kara makes every 5 seconds as she takes bites of her chicken and broccoli salad.

"Why did you get that if you don't like it?" You whisper to her eventually, trying not to disturb the others' conversation.

"It was the only think with meat; I thought it'd help cover the taste." She admits to you in a pout. "It doesn't." She adds uselessly.

"You're so dramatic." You laugh quietly.

"Hey, why is everyone being so weird?" The blonde asks you eventually, clearly taking advantage of the fact that everyone else seems to be distracted; Alex having finally decided to participate in Lena and Winn's conversation about the pros and cons of robotic surgery ( _so_ old school).

"No one's being weird." You deflect with a shrug, taking another bite of kale.

"Lori, please, something is clearly going on." She practically begs, and you don't know what to do.

You take your sweet time chewing on your food while you try to kick at Winn's leg for help under the table but your own legs are too short and you can't reach anything.

With a sigh you finally swallow and look at the blonde. "I can't tell you." You whisper regretfully.

"Why _not_?" She whispers back painfully. "Why do I feel like when I left to get food we were all reading the same chapter and now, somehow, you're all on a completely different book?" 

"Mom I- I mean-" You stutter out, hating the fact that you have to lie to her.

"Supergirl." You hear from across the table in a stern voice. "Don't ask Lori to tell you things we all know she shouldn't."

"But you _all_ know!" The Super argues with Alex, looking at everyone with betrayal in her eyes.

"Do we, Supergirl? Do we _all_ know?" Lena challenges, effectively shutting the hero up.

"Lena…" Kara whispers and it breaks your heart.

"I think that Lori being here is a risk in and of itself, so let's not put everyone's future in jeopardy because you're _curious_." The brunette practically scolds, standing up and gathering everyone's empty plate.

"I'll fill up the dishwasher." You mutter shyly, leaving the grownups at the table while you escape to the little privacy the kitchen gives you. 

You _hate_ this. Hate having to pretend that seeing your moms so at odds with each other doesn't make you miserable, because _it does_.

They don't normally fight. They _'disagree'_ sometimes, that's what they say, but they never fight. Never yell. Not at each other, not at you. They don't use that tone with each other, they're always loving and soft. 

Making the other hurt is the further thing from their mind.

"Hey kid, you alright?" It's Alex that comes to check on you. Well, you're not sure if she comes for that purpose specifically or if she just needed to throw out her beer bottle while you happened to have a minor breakdown in the kitchen but either way, Alex's here.

"I'm good, just tired." You lie easily, putting the last of the cutlery in the dishwasher.

"I bet, you've had… quite a day." She laughs softly, leaning against the island.

"Yeah." You agree, softly. "Where do I, um- Am I coming back with you to the DEO for the night?" You ask.

"Oh uh, I didn't think about that actually." Alex answers nervously, "Let me go talk to the others."

You nod as she walks away and you wrap your arms around yourself, wondering if your sleeping accommodations are going to cause another fight.

"Are you cold?" You hear Lena ask from where she appears behind you.

"Just a bit." You shrug, turning around and seeing her crouching down to be closer to your height.

"Probably because you're tired." She answers as she reaches out to you to rub both of your arms to create warmth. "You're gonna sleep here tonight alright?"

You nod quickly in agreement because you're so tired you'll sleep anywhere really, but you can't help but glance back to the table where Kara is still pouting.

"Supergirl agrees with me that my apartment is bigger, safer, _and_ you're already here." The brunette says before you can even speak.

"Okay." You let out along with a yawn, taking a step to fall into her arms and tuck your head into her neck like you're so used to do.

It's only when she takes a few seconds too long to react that you realize the mistake your sleep deprived brain has made. As you're about to step back from the embrace, she wraps her arms around you and lifts you up along with her, "It's okay darling." She assures you, rubbing your back soothingly, carrying you over to the others.

"Lori's exhausted, I'm going to put her to bed; I'll be right back." She tells them, but before she can walk away, Supergirl jumps up.

"I'll help." She announces too loudly, and you can feel Lena' arms tightening around you instinctively. "She is my daughter after all." She adds with an awkward laugh.

"Of course." The brunette replies, clearing her throat as she mentions for the Super to follow her down the hall.

Lena walks you into what you assume is the spare bedroom, and as she's laying you down on the bed, she turns to the hero standing awkwardly in the doorway.

"Can you get a t-shirt from my closet? It'll be big on her but comfortable to sleep." She asks before removing your shoes.

"Yep!" The blonde exclaims way too loudly again, a clear indication that she's nervous, before spinning around in a blur and walking away.

"Lori, your mother is ridiculous." The CEO tells you, and you laugh as you sit up to take the rest of your clothes off.

"I'm aware." You answer amused, just as the Super walks into the room, handing you a very large and worn-out L-Corp t-shirt that you quickly put on. "Thanks."

As you slide under the covers, you smile at how good it feels to be in bed, warm, and surrounded by the two most important people in your life. Well, kind of.

"Don't fight again, okay?" You ask them gently as you're fighting to keep your eyes open.

They both look taken aback by your request, and they both smile sadly as they simultaneously kneel by your bedside, as if they'd done it a million times before.

"I'm sorry I got a little agitated earlier, I was frustrated but I promise it won't happen again." Kara starts, looking truly apologetic. 

"S'okay." You mumble sleepily.

"Supergirl and I are going to talk about a few things while you're resting," Lena says, and by the look on the blonde's face, it's not something she was aware of, "and when you get up tomorrow morning, we'll all work extra hard to get you home." She assures you, brushing a strand of your hair behind your ear.

"Okay." You reply with another yawn.

"Goodnight darling." She whispers as she and Supergirl stand back up.

"G'night." You mumble with the last bit a strength you have before you lose consciousness.

* * *

When you wake up the next morning, it's to the smell of smoke. And a second later, the fire alarm. Which means Kara has been cooking.

"Kara!" You hear Lena gasp out in alarm _and_ exasperation and you giggle to yourself because that's a common occurrence in your house.

"I'm sorry!" Is the squeaked out apology the blonde lets out, and with another laugh, you decide to finally get out of bed.

As you make your way to the kitchen, the smell of smoke becomes more pungent and you have to cover your nose with your t-shirt.

"How on Earth did you burn this so badly, so quickly?" The brunette asks as she's trying to get the situation under control.

"I may or may not have used some heat vision…?" The blonde hero answers and your eyes go wide.

_She told her!_

"Oh my god, finally!" You yell out happily, alerting them of your presence for the first time, running over to Kara and giving her a tight hug.

"Kara, please take Lori away from the kitchen while I deal with this." Lena says calmly but firmly as the blonde hugs you back tentatively.

"Why?"

"Smoke inhalation _is_ a thing for non-Kryptonians darling, and you burned everything here practically into oblivion." She explains slowly, and when you glance at the pan in her hand, you snort at the tiny black lump you see, the only remains of what, you can't say. Two more pans are still smoking on the stove top. 

"Right!" The blonde says alarmed. "Smoke inhalation." She repeats to herself, pushing you away from her and towards the hallway. "Lee, you go with Lori, I'll deal with this, it's my mess after all."

"I don't know that I can trust you in my kitchen." The brunette argues with a raised eyebrow.

"I promise I won't turn anything on, but you're human too so like, go away?" The blonde demands quickly. "Please?" She adds, when she sees your Ma's signature eyebrow inch up.

"Very well." The CEO agrees with a sigh, mentioning for you to follow her. "Lori and I will get ready for the day while you clean this up, and then we'll all go out for breakfast."

"Awesome." You mutter under your breath with a smile, but both women still hear you ad when you look up at them, they're both giving you loving smiles.

"We'll go to Noonan's if you manage to save my frying pans." Lena challenges, nodding to one of the scorched pan now in the blonde's hand.

"Deal!" The Super exclaims happily as she shoos you away from the kitchen.

* * *

"You managed to destroy three 100$, non-stick, frying pans with _breakfast_?" Alex asks Kara later on over breakfast.

Even though she _hadn't_ been able to save the pan, when you had mentioned that you had really been looking forward to eating at Noonan's, Lena caved and said you all could go anyway, much to the blonde's delight, who hugged you tight in gratitude.

(You try not to think too much about how the first hug that this Kara has initiated happened to be over food.)

"I heard Lori wake up and I wanted breakfast to be ready for her!" Kara defends herself with a pout. "I'll pay you back Lena, I promise." 

"It's alright Kara, I have more; this isn't the first pan you burn at my place." Lena laughs as she takes another bite of cantaloupe. 

"Somehow, that doesn't surprise me at all." Alex says, sipping on her coffee with a smirk in her sister's direction.

You're glad to see that the tension from last night seems to have evaporated completely. As you were getting ready, Lena had recounted the event of the previous night to you.  
After Alex and Winn had made their exit to go back to their respective apartment, Alex thankfully seeming in a _slightly_ better mood than when dinner had begun, the brunette had asked the Super to take a seat. 

It apparently didn't take long for Kara to spill her secret to Lena, and despite the worry you _know_ Kara had been feeling, Lena just hugged her. And a lot of tears were involved, on both sides (that part Lena tells you with a blush, as if ashamed of her emotions).

But Lena also assured you that she hadn't mentioned your whole… parentage, with the blonde, so Kara is still oblivious to the fact that Lena is also your mom, but she's none the wiser and seems to be satisfied with their conversation from last night.

You can see it in the way she holds herself; it reminds you of the mom you know. She still seems nervous, glancing at Lena every so often as if to make sure that she's still here, but her eyes are brighter than they were last night, the weight of the secret she had been carrying all this time finally gone.

You're glad in a way though, that she's still in the dark when it comes to Lena being your mom. Because as loving and welcoming as the mother you know may be, this version of her isn't yet; at least not with you. And so far, she hasn't had the best reaction to the whole situation (aka, you) so you don't want her to freak out even more when she finds out she has a whole ass child with her best friend.

But hopefully she'll never find out. Or well, not until it actually _happens_.

"Kiera?" Comes from a commanding voice to your right, which belongs to none other than Cat Grant.

You gasp in a realization, Alex's gaze falling on you with a curious frown.

"Miss Grant!" Is Kara's nervous answer, mouth gaping like a fish, trying to find something to say.

With a small, threatening smile, Miss Grant takes off her sunglasses, and coffee in hand, stares at the blonde without blinking, "Care to tell me why my assistant called in sick when she's enjoying breakfast with her…friends?" She hesitates on the last word, glancing at you and Lena _freaking_ Luthor with a barely noticeable frown. 

"I- uh…" Kara stammers out awkwardly, finding absolutely nothing to say.

"Cat, how are you?" Lena asks in a honeyed voice, grabbing the powerful woman's attention.

"Lena, I have to say, I'm surprised to see you in such… ordinary company." Cat greets with a contemplative expression.

"Your assistant is my best friend, Cat." Lena laughs in a silvery voice.

"Well, that's… something." Cat replies flatly. "Though I'm afraid it doesn't explain why said assistant couldn't work today." She repeats, focusing her attention back on Kara, who's still trying to find something to say.

After a moment of silence, Cat decides that this whole thing isn't worth her time and slips her sunglasses back on, "Actually, I don't care, you're not getting paid. Kiera, I'm expecting you in the office tomorrow. 8am sharp." She instructs before turning on her heels and walking away.

"Yes, Miss Grant!" Kara yells after the woman's retreating form.

"What the hell was that?" Alex asks, eyes wide, turning to you first for some reason.

" _Cat Grant_." You reply in awe. 

"Why do you like you just met your celebrity crush?" The redhead asks in confusion.

"I've never met her before!" You exclaim happily. "Oh Rao, I can't believe I won't be able to tell my friends about this." You groan out in frustration. "But Jamie!" You gasp just a second later, barely giving yourself time to breathe, "Jamie's gonna be so jealous Aunt Alex!"

"Uh…" Alex hesitates, but you barely pay her any attention.

"I mean it's not every day that you meet _The_ Cat Grant!"

"Miss Grant and I aren't friends anymore?" Kara asks you softly, a frown on her face, and her sad tone catches you by surprise.

"You are! But she's super busy and I've only been a Danvers for 5 years, there hasn't been time." You shrug.

"You haven't met her once in 5 years?" Kara asks in disbelief. 

"Well she moved away and she's not in town a lot, but when she is it's usually for work, so no." You shrug again, taking a sip of your fresh orange juice.

"What about CatCo?" Lena is the once to ask, Kara still confused about every word coming out if your mouth.

"It's in good hands." You promise her easily with a small smirk she doesn't seem to notice.

Just as Kara is about to ask another question, Lena's phone rings and Jess' name pops up, grabbing everyone's attention.

"Jess." Lena answers immediately, watching you with a soft smile as she listens to what the other woman has to say. But then she freezes, looks at you and Kara with a frown and asks, "Are you sure?"

You don't know why those 3 words make your heart hammer in your chest but they do. Something doesn't feel right.

"Hey, you alright?" Kara asks you worryingly and you realize she's probably noticing your erratic heartbeat.

You shake your head but don't answer, your eyes focused on Lena and on every expression she makes, hoping to figure what's being said.

"Okay, we'll be right there. Thank you, Jess." Lena says before pulling the phone away from her ear and looking at you dolefully.

"What is it?" You ask nervously.

"We should go back to the lab." Lena answers looking at the other two adults for support.

"Alright, let's go then." Alex agrees easily, pushing you out of the booth so that she can get out herself.

"What did she say?" You ask again, a little more sternly.

"Lori, let's talk about this somewhere else okay?" Lena pleads with you as she and Kara got up from the opposite side of the booth you had been occupying.  
"I'm not going home, am I?" You ask through tear-filled eyes, staring at your shoes in the middle of Noonan's.

"I didn't say that." Lena responds firmly, lifting your chin up with her index finger and staring into your eyes to make sure you're listening. "There seems to be some unforeseen complications, but we're going to figure it out, alright? We just need to get to the lab and start brainstorming."

"Okay." You nod as a lone tear slides down your cheek.

"Luthors don't give up." The brunette states as she wipes your cheek with her thumb.

"I know." You answer in a brittle voice, taking a deep shuddering breath.

"Good." She smiles at you, straightening back up to her full height. "Let's go work this out."

* * *

"What?" You ask numbly for the third time in a row, but this time no one bothers answering.

Jess is looking like she's failed you and you can help but think that she has, but she did tell you that she checked her calculation 3 times before even reaching out, and then 3 other times after, and then _Lena_ checked them once you got here and you know that if Lena says they're correct then… you're screwed.

"I'm sorry." Jess says _again_ even though she has nothing to be sorry for, this isn't on her. This isn't anyone's fault really. You don't think anyway.

"What does this mean?" Alex breaks the silence after a bit, clearly struggling to speak around the lump in her throat.

"It means," Lena starts, and the emotion in her voice makes the tears you were trying to hold off finally fall, "that they're not coming for her."

"And that even if we could send her there, she wouldn't… belong." Jess adds hesitantly.

"How is that even _possible_?" Kara blows up suddenly, making you flinch. "How can they not _know her_?"

"Mindwipe?" Winn throws out shyly.

"Something of that extent would take someone _very_ powerful, and evil." Alex shakes her head as she rubs at her temple.

"So J'onn is out of the question." Winn mutters to himself. 

"But you know the man Jess talked to, right honey?" Lena asks you softly, kneeling next to you where you're still just, _standing_ there, shocked at the turn of event.

You nod numbly without looking at her. You can't bear to look at anyone right now.

"Brainy." You croak out, staring at the floor in front of you. "He's a 12th-level intellect; if he doesn't remember me then…" You shake your head as more tears slide down your cheeks.

"Lori…" Kara tries, taking a couple of steps towards you and Lena, who clearly wants to reach out to you now that you let yourself look up, but as you take a couple of steps back you shake your head again, stopping both of them effectively.

"I just- I need a minute." You eventually say, bolting from the lab and to the nearest employee bathroom, locking yourself in a stall and letting yourself break down fully for the first time.

You're not going home. 

_"No one seems to know who you are."_ is what Jess had said when she had explained the situation to you.

But _how_ exactly is that possible? How can you just… disappear from everyone’s memory? Or where you just never there? Maybe you’re just crazy.

"Lori?" You hear through the door. It's Lena, but you don't answer, you're not sure you can even talk right now.

“We’re going to figure this out honey, I promise.” She says a few beats later, but you still don’t respond.

That’s the thing though, isn’t it? She can’t promise you that because none of you have any idea what the hell is going on.

Even though Alex seems to have warmed up to you, you saw the looks she was giving you when Jess shared the news with everyone. She’s doubting her decision to trust you. She probably rethinking her theory of how you’re here to murder someone.

Kara looked panicked mostly. You can’t blame her.

And Lena. You knew the moment your eyes met hers that her heart was breaking for you. Because even though she’s not your mother here, she kind of stepped in as such and she feels things the way you would expect your Ma’ to, in your time.

And that’s the worst, because now you’ve just learned that you’re never going home, never getting your family back, and your basically stuck here with people, that while familiar, aren’t the ones you crave for.

So instead of trying to “figure it out”, like Lena puts it, you ignore everyone that tries to talk to you and you close your eyes as tight as you can, hoping to just make the world go away.

* * *

_“We need a vacation.”_

_“You read my mind too much, it scares me.” Lena replies with a playful smirk, and you can’t help but laugh at their silliness._

_“What do you say Lori? Hawaii? France? Korea?” Kara rattles off and you can only shake your head at her behavior._

_“I don’t care as long as we’re together.” You shrug in indifference._

_“Oh my god, you can’t say things like that!” Kara groans out dramatically to try and hide the tears rapidly filling her eyes.  
“Darling.” Lena starts laughing as she reaches out to the blonde to rub her back soothingly._

_“Sorry.” You apologize quickly once you realize what you’ve done, biting your lip guiltily._

_“Those are good tears sweetie.” Kara assures you as she shakes her head. “You’re just the best kid.”_

_“We got lucky.” Lena adds with a soft smile, kissing the top of your head lovingly._

_You can’t believe they think they’re the lucky ones, when clearly, you won the lottery here._

_“I got the best moms.” You argue softly with a shrug, and you see them freeze but for the first time of your life, you don’t ask yourself if you did something wrong._

_“Dibs on ‘Mom’.” Kara says through her tears after a while and you all start laughing at the absurdity of the moment._

* * *

You wake up crying. 

And to murmuring voices. 

When you open your eyes, you recognize the guest bedroom at Lena’s.

“I can’t just take her in Lena!” One of the voices says and you immediately recognize it as Kara’s.

You also can’t help but notice the difference in tones from _this_ Kara and the one from your dream. From your memory.

She seems mad.

“She’s your _daughter_ Kara!” Lena. She sounds furious. You don’t know what Kara’s done but she’s in deep shit.

“She’s not! Not yet, and maybe not ever! We don’t even know if what she told us is the truth!” Kara argues back and you frown in realization.

Oh. They’re talking about you.

“Are you seriously going to turn her away?” 

“Lena, she’s… I can’t do this okay? I’ve never seen myself with children to begin with, what am I supposed to do with a 10-year-old? I’m 26, I have two jobs, one of them being keeping the entirety of National City safe; I don’t have time.” 

They sure aren’t being quiet nor discreet when talking about you when you’re literally _right there_.

“I can’t believe we’re actually arguing about this right now.” Is Lena’s answer and you know that if you don’t step in, it’s going to turn into a full-on fight.

So you wipe the lingering tears off of your cheeks and you slide out of bed.

The blonde and brunette are standing face to face in the kitchen, glaring at each other, neither noticing you.

Alex is sitting in silence on the couch next to J’onn and Winn, who are having a whispered conversation of some sort. At least they know how to keep it down.

“Stop it.” You say tiredly, catching everyone by surprise. “I’ll leave; you don’t have to look after me Kara.” You shake your head, turning around to go back to the guest room to grab the few things you’ve accumulated over the last couple of days.

“Wait, Lori!” Lena yells after you, but you don’t stop. “Lori, please!” She pleads as you both enter the bedroom.

“It’s okay, I don’t blame her.” You tell her calmly.

“She’s your mother.” The brunette argues back, but you shake your head as you change your shirt.

“She’s not. And neither are you.” 

“I can look after you.” She affirms, taking a step closer to you.

“You don’t have to.” You start, and with a tearful smile you add, “And I don’t want you to.”

“What?” She asks brokenly, and you know for sure that she thinks it’s because of something she did.

“You’re not my mom, and I can’t pretend that you are.” You shake your head. “It hurts too much.” You admit with a thin smile.

“What do you mean?” You hear someone ask and you jump in surprise, knowing that despite the question, Kara just figured a few things out.

“Kara…” Lena starts slowly but Kara walks further into the room and she stops.

“The second part of your last name, it’s Luthor, isn’t it?” She asks you, and you nod silently as you watch her process the information.

“And you knew?” She then asks the brunette and when she gets another positive nod, she scoffs, looking betrayed.

“She didn’t tell me. Winn let it slide and it was too late to take it back.” Lena rushes to explain, but it only angers Kara more.

“Oh, so Winn knew too huh? What about Alex?” She asks jokingly, but stops laughing as soon as she reads the look on both of your faces.

“Wow.” She cracks out, turning on her heels and walking out just as fast as she had walked in.

You and Lena both stand frozen for a moment before she takes a deep breath and turns to face you, looking heartbroken.

“I’m going to go talk to her.” She announces and starts to walk away but stops and whirls around to face you once more. “You’re not going anywhere, we’re figuring this out one way or another; together, you hear me?” 

“Luthors don’t give up.” You laugh sadly as you drop the L-Corp shirt you had borrowed from her that first night on the bed.

“Damn right.” Is what you hear before you’re left alone in the bedroom. But you don’t look up because you’re transfixed. You have no idea how you didn’t notice it before, but there’s a picture on the otherwise empty desk in the bedroom and it features a picture of Lena and an older girl when they were younger.

And while you’re certain you’ve never seen this girl before, you’ve definitely seen those eyes. You can’t place them, the when and where is escaping you, but you _know_ you have.

Grabbing the frame, you rush into the living room and unconcerned with the fact that you seemed to have interrupted an emotional conversation between Lena and Kara, you grab the brunette's hand and shove the photo in her face.

“Who’s this?” You ask out of breath.

“Wha- Lori, what’s going on?” She asks you worriedly.

And yeah okay, you know your mood did a whole 180, but now is _not_ the time to worry about that.

“ _Who is that?_ ” You repeat more urgently, and after glancing at the picture, Lena looks at you with narrowed eyes and says, “Lex.”

* * *

You grab the first phone you see - Kara’s – and you google Lex Luthor. 

And well, it takes you a few minutes to figure out how this _ancient_ version of the internet works but eventually you find what you’re looking for.

Pictures after pictures, articles after articles; all about Lex Luthor.  
_Alexandra_ Luthor that is. Because apparently Lex Luthor is a woman?!

“Y’all,” you start and they all look at you like you’ve lost your mind (and honestly at this point you’re not sure anymore), “I think I’m on the wrong Earth.”

“You’re what now?” Is the question you hear first, though you’re not sure who it came from because you’re mind is _reeling_ and everyone starts talking over each other.

“Silence!” J’onn yells eventually and the apartment falls silent immediately. “Lori, explain.” He demands once he’s sure he’s not going to get interrupted again.

“Okay, first off, Lex Luthor a man.” You say and Lena scoffs.

“That’s preposterous.”

“But is it?” You ask. “Because the Lex Luthor _I know is bald, a murderer, and he hates your guts.”_

“I mean, that’s still Lex for you, except for the bald part.” Lena shrugs as if you’re discussing the weather.

“I mean that makes sense, because our Earths seem to be pretty similar, except for a few details, like Lex, or the fact that Cat Grant is still in town; because I thought that I had mixed up the years, but apparently not? And Maggie and Alex are still dating!” You list off excitedly.

“Wait, what?” Alex asks but you don’t answer, too lost in your own thoughts.

“ _And_ you contacted _your_ future, which explains why they didn’t know me! You either don’t adopt me here, or I don’t even exist for all we know, but either way, it means I can go home!” 

“Lori, Lori, slow down honey; we need to verify this theory first.” Lena tries to calm you down but you’re not here for it.

“Lena, there is literally no other explanation for all of this!” You reply enthusiastically. 

“I mean, it does seem to be the most likely explanation.” Winn shrugs and you smile at him in thanks.

“We’ll need to be 100% sure before we do anything.” J’onn adds trying to calm you down in vain.

“I’m from Earth-38.” You announce, and your eyes immediately focus on Winn’s expression because you know he’s going to be the one that gives it away. And a second later, you’re proven right.

“This is Earth-37.” He says, eyes wide and unblinking.

“Hell yeah it is!” You cheer.

“Lori, that’s not good news, how are we going to get you home?” Lena asks softly.

“Call Cisco!” You say excitedly.

“Who?” Kara asks you with a frown.

“Cisco Ramon? Barry’s friend?” You answer nervously, heart hammering.

“Oh! Yes, Cisco, of course.” Kara nods but then bites her lip and looks at you.” Why?”

“Because… he can manipulate dimensional energy and travel within the multiverse?” You explain slowly.

Everyone’s silent for a moment, looking like they’re all thinking really hard about something until Kara speaks up. “I… don’t think Cisco knows that. _If_ he can do that, that is.” She says slowly.

“But, how do you know him then?” You ask but everyone seems confused by your question. “They’re from Earth-1.”

“They- They’re from Central City. It’s like, 10 minutes away for Barry?” The blonde says hesitantly and you drop on the couch in exasperation.

“Next you’re gonna tell me Superman lives in Canada.” You laugh.

“Who?” Kara asks intrigued, and honestly, _no_.

* * *

“So you don’t have Cisco’s interdimensional extrapolator, but you can make one right?” You ask hopefully around dinner that night.

“Sure.” Jess shrugs as she grabs another slice of pizza.

“Yeah, what she said.” Winn shrugs, making Jess smile in his direction.

_Disturbing_ , but okay.

“How long will that take?” Kara asks curiously.

“Not too long, it should be easier than the trans-temporal communicator.” Jess answers quickly. 

“So you’ll be home soon.” Lena smiles your way a little sadly.

“Yeah, but I’ll miss you guys.” You reply.

“You’ll have older, cooler versions of us to hang out with, I’m sure you’ll be fine.” Winn laughs.

“That’s just it though; they’re not you. You might be similar, but you’re not the same. I thought you were just younger versions at first so I didn’t pay too much attention to the little details, but now I notice a bunch of differences.”

“Like what?” Alex asks before standing up to go grab the good whiskey Lena keep in her kitchen at all times. That hasn’t changed.

“Well, my mom actually likes me.” You laugh at the look on Kara’s face.

“It’s not that I don’t like you!” She assures you quickly. “I just don’t love that you’re mine, or well, were supposed to be, I guess.” She shrugs sheepishly. “I like kids; I just don’t want any right now. Or anytime soon.” She confesses softly, sparing a look at Lena who rolls her eyes affectionately. 

“That’s fair.” You laugh. 

“But eventually?” Lena dares asking shyly.

“I mean- I’ll consider it if, you know, it seems worth considering.” Kara replies with a blush, and you know immediately that the answer is yes, as long as it’s with Lena.

“ _Are they as ridiculous in your world?_ ” Alex whispers to you while they stare at each other for a little too long to be considered friendly.

“Worse.” You laugh.

You can’t wait to go back to them.

* * *

“Wait, do we know how you’re here?” Winn asks that night around the board game you’re all playing (while Jess and Lena went back to the lab to work on getting the interdimensional extrapolator up and running) and you tilt your head to the side because no, you do not in fact know why you’re here.

“Huh, no we don’t.” You say in realization.

“Is it safe for you to go back then?” Kara asks worryingly.

The dynamic between the two of you had improved tenfold since it had been established that she wasn’t in any way related to you. You’re thankful, because Kara as a person – not just as your Mom – is pretty awesome and you had missed hanging out with her without feeling like you’re walking on eggshells constantly.

“I guess we won’t know until I do.” You shrug, unbothered.

“But-“ she starts arguing but you stop her.

“Kara I can’t stay here. I want to go home. I’ll take the risk of everything not being perfect over not going out of fear.” You explain gently.

She studies you for a bit and in the end, seems to accept your decision.

“You’re right.” She nods. “I’d do the same thing.”

“Duh.” Winn adds unconsciously and Alex snorts at the face he makes when he realizes he interrupted your moment.

“Perhaps one of us should go with you, before traveling back here, to make sure you’re safe.” J’onn suggests wisely.

“I mean sure, why not?” You shrug indifferently. “Might be easier to explain what I’ve been up to if one of you comes with me.” 

“ _Please bring me!_ ” Winn shrieks excitedly, and you can help but burst out laughing.

“Winn, you’re the less chill person on the planet, and you want me to believe you wouldn’t pass out of excitement if I bring you to another _universe_?” You laugh, quickly joined by the others in the room, even J’onn.

“I’ll be chill! I promise! _Please_ Lori.” He begs, and you shake your head at his antics, knowing damn well he won’t.

“I’ll think about it.” You say so that he’ll settle down. “Now go on, it’s your turn.” You nod towards the board game with a smile.

“You’re my favorite niece ever.” he smiles as he goes for his turn.

“Not your niece.” Alex deadpans with a roll of her eyes.

“Whatever, you know what I mean.”

* * *

“So this is it then huh?” You ask no one in particular when you’re all gathered in the lab at L-Corp, extrapolator in hand.

“It was a pleasure making your acquaintance Lori; I wish you a safe trip home.” J’onn smiles kindly and you can help but move forward to give him a hug. He hugs you back immediately and you smile to yourself as you pull back, moving on to Jess and Alex.

You don’t say goodbye to Lena and Kara until the very end, because you know they’re gonna be the hardest ones, but eventually, you have to stay your goodbyes, and understanding the importance of the moment, the others scatter around the lab, giving the three of you some privacy.

Taking a deep breath, you decide to take the first step.

“Stop being dumbasses alright?” You ask them and they both look taken aback. “Seriously, it’s ridiculous; Alex is gonna have to go to therapy soon if you don’t get your shit together.”

“We- uh-“ Kara stutters as she blushes redder than you’ve ever seen her, in any universe.

“Yes, darling, we’ll talk.” Lena laughs at you, bumping her hip against Kara’s who just chokes on her own spit in response.

“Good.” You reply with an exasperated sigh. 

For a bit after that, the three of you just stand there, smiling at each other, taking the other in, knowing that this is the last time you’ll be seeing each other, or at the very least for the foreseeable future.

“Thank you for helping me.” You say finally, surging forward to hug them both tightly.

“Kind of didn’t give us a choice there.” Kara laughs and Lena swats at her arm in reprimand but you just laugh along with the blonde.

“I’m gonna miss you a lot.” You admit as you pull back from the embrace.

“We’ll miss you too, but not the panic you brought along telling me I was a _mother_.” Kara admits, making a face.

“Sorry about that, by the way.” You apologize trying not to laugh, but she shakes her head telling you it’s no big deal.

“Will you come visit?” Lena asks, reaching for Kara’s hand in what she probably thinks is a subtle gesture but you raise an eyebrow at her and she raises one right back, daring you to say something.

“I mean, granting that everyone back home is alive and well, sure.” You shrug with an amused smile at the fact that Kara is looking like she’s trying not to pass out at the contact initiated by Lena.

“Or we could come.” Lena offers with a shy smile.

“That’s be awesome!” You agree with an excited nod.

“I want to meet your other Kryptonian.” Kara finally rejoins the conversation, apparently over her internal freak-out.

“Kal-El.” You nod with a smile. “That can be arranged.”

“Wonderful.” She acquiesces with an excited smile.

“Alright my little universe traveler, we should go.” Winn interrupts you eventually, and with a nod in his direction, you hug Lena and Kara one last time.

“You take care of yourself alright darling?” Lena says teary-eyed and you nod as you try to keep your own tears at bay.

“And you take care of each other.” You reply, looking mainly at Kara who you’ve come to understand is a little… inept, relationship wise.

“Promise.” The blonde answers through a blush and you can’t help but giggle.

* * *

The journey isn’t as unpleasant as you thought it would be, but also, you’d rather not do it again? Yeah.

You’re glad you brought Winn with you though, because his excitement (which, spoiler alert, he did _not_ manage to suppress) makes the whole thing hilarious.  
In fact, you’re still laughing at the look on his face when you emerge on the other side of the portal.

“Lori?!” You hear your Mom yell from _somewhere_ and a nanosecond later, the wind is being knocked out of you as she lifts you up and hugs you with as much strength as she’ll allow herself to use when it comes to you.

“ _Mom… Can’t… breathe._ ” You manage to stammer out while also tapping her on the back so that she’ll let go.

Which she does a little too fast when she realizes that she’s hurting you and she barely catches you again before you hit the floor.

“Lori!” She yells again even though you’re _right there_.

“Hi Mom.” You greet her finally and before you can do anything to stop yourself, you’re sobbing into her arms.

“Oh baby.” She whispers into your hair, crying just as much.

“Huh…” You hear from Winn behind you, but before you can turn around to see what’s wrong with him, you hear the exact same sound from behind your Mom and when you look up from where you had buried your face in her shoulder, you see _your_ Winn just about ready to drop dead at what he sees.

But you don’t pay them any more attention than that because next to your Winn is your Ma’, who you’re pretty sure has stopped breathing as soon as she saw you.

“Go.” Your Mom tells you through her tears, and you don’t need to be told twice to run over and throw your arms around her stomach.

She bends down to be at your level she looks at you as if she’s seeing a ghost, making your tears fall even faster because you know exactly what’s she’s feeling.

“I missed you so much.” She says finally as she uselessly wipes at the tears falling down your cheeks while completely ignoring her own.  
“I missed you too.” You answer in a wobbly voice as your Mom joins the two of you on the floor in the middle of the DEO.

“What happened?” You ask eventually, after a few minutes of more hugging.

“You don’t remember?” Your Mom asks and you shake your head negatively with a frown.

“I was getting ready for school and then nothing. I woke up at what I thought was our DEO but turns out, I was on another Earth.” You laugh in disbelief.

“You- You were _where_?” Lena seethes and you point at Winn still standing stock-still behind you.

“Earth-37, with this guy.” You explain. 

He waves at you awkwardly but doesn’t say anything, clearly overwhelmed at the whole thing. 

“Brainy is _so_ dead. Shame.” Nia says as she walks over to the three of you, and in a second you’re hugging your second favorite aunt.

“What? Why?” You ask in confusion, pulling back just enough to look at her face.

“He shot you with a modified alien gun and… you disappeared and we had no idea where you were.” She says slowly, hugging you a little closer. “He didn’t mean to, of course, complete accident, but when he couldn’t get you back, Alex got _mad_.”

“I had to convince her to lock him up instead of just killing him on the spot.” Your Mom adds with a strained smile.

“That’s… not what I expected.” You answer truthfully with a laugh.

“We were thinking more ‘world domination’ kind of deal.” Winn from Earth-37 joins in and everyone turns to look at him.

“You look different.” Nia observes thoughtfully, as she looks him up and down.

“I have _so much_ to tell you.” You laugh loudly, finally home again.


End file.
